Russia bears losses unprecedented since World War II in a conflict of attrition with Ukraine

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates that Russia has suffered more casualties in Ukraine in one year than in any other conflict since World War II, and that Russian forces are now mired in a “war of attrition” that will almost certainly be required. long-term Western support if Kiev wants to emerge victorious from the conflict.

Ukrainein February 2023, it turned into “trench warfare, wave attacks, artillery and heavy losses on both sides,” according to experts from the American Center based in Washington, DC. Russiabelieve that 25 times more soldiers die every month in Ukraine than in the war in Chechnya and 35 times more than in Afghanistan during the same period.

In particular, according to the group, Russia between 60,000 and 70,000 died in combat. Ukraine between February 2022 and February 2023 between regular army soldiers, pro-Russian militias and contractors from private military companies such as the Wagner Group. This death toll exceeds the total death toll in all conflicts with a Soviet or Russian presence since 1945.

All in all, Russia he suffered between 200,000 and 250,000 total casualties (counting wounded, killed and missing) during the first year of the war. These casualty estimates also include ordinary Russian soldiers, militias and private contractors.

All this is now happening at a pace that has slowed significantly since Moscow’s “lightning invasion” attempt a year ago. Neither side, according to CSIS, has won large territories after successful offensives on Ukraine late last year, and the toll continues to rise.

Both armies suffered significant damage to their weapons systems… Russia since the beginning of the war, she has lost about 50% of her modern main battle tanks T-72B3 and T-72B3M, which can be used for combat operations on almost 1000 km of the front.

innovative spirit

Experts welcome it Ukraine fights “extremely well” against an enemy outnumbered by material resources, due in part to the “innovative” nature displayed by the Ukrainian army, as evidenced by the use of drones, a tactic promoted from the lower ranks, thanks to the flexibility of the chain of command towards new ideas.

Ukraine This is not the first country to use unmanned aerial vehicles in conventional warfare, but CSIS emphasizes in this case “the use of a wide range of these devices in a large number of missions”, as well as their integration into strike groups. more complex targets compared to previous combat scenarios, in particular the use of Azerbaijani drones against Armenia in 2020.

Added to this is the use Ukraine Starlink systems to integrate some of their systems, another tactical innovation that allowed Ukraine overcome Russian interference. This system is a commercial satellite constellation developed by SpaceX to provide high-speed, low-latency broadband Internet access using advanced satellites in low Earth orbit.

It is imperative to note a certain unwillingness of the Ukrainian government to the flexibility shown by the military. According to the CSIS interview, the lack of official support from the Ukrainian government hinders the introduction of systems created by volunteers, which prevents the military from extending their use to the entire army.

Some officers fear the consequences of using a system for which they do not have government permission. Others lack the necessary communications hardware to take advantage of potentially valuable software.

However, CSIS experts remind that this innovation is not enough. This is an “inherently risky process that can contribute to a false theory of victory” due to the excessive speed of applying these advances on the battlefield.

more weapons

Ukraine For this reason, and in the view of the panel of experts, it needs large quantities of more conventional supplies to keep up with the fighting in a conflict with no end in sight. “The West,” they explain, “must prepare for a long war and provide support Ukraine long term, including the United States.”

The country, they argue, now needs advanced systems for offensive operations in a protracted war, such as air defense systems, long-range artillery, armored vehicles, fighter jets and ammunition, as well as spare parts. “This type of munitions, weapon systems and equipment is needed to help Ukrainian forces launch effective counterattacks against entrenched Russian troops,” they explain.

All this because Russiarecalls the band, “still has an edge over Ukraine in the quantity of ammunition and the quality of some weapons systems such as long-range artillery, not to mention naval capabilities. “Military assistance from the United States and other Western countries has been helpful to date, although sometimes too slow. In the future, US and Western defense industrial bases will be needed for a long and exhausting war of attrition,” the group concludes.

(According to Europa Press)

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Fernando Carvallo selects information and shares his vision of national and international news. subscribe to our mailing list