To say that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was going poorly would be a fairly powerful understatement at this point, and new data appears to convey just how abysmal the Kremlin’s situation is.
There have long been reports of mass desertions, surrenders, and morale so low that Russian soldiers have been shooting themselves in the legs just to get sent home. Furthermore, the disrepair of the Kremlin’s military equipment has left scores of tanks, trucks, and other equipment simply stranded on the side of Ukrainian roads.
This week, British intelligence experts relayed to the world just how much of Russia’s army has been rendered “ineffective”.
More than a quarter of troops that Russia sent to fight in Ukraine are now believed to be “combat ineffective,” the United Kingdom announced Monday.
The startling statistic comes as Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine is in its 68th day. Prior to the assault from Vladimir Putin’s army, it was estimated that Moscow assembled around 150,000 soldiers to participate in the war.
“At the start of the conflict, Russia committed over 120 battalion tactical groups, approximately 65 percent of its entire ground combat strength,” the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in a tweet. “It is likely that more than a quarter of these units have now been rendered combat ineffective.”
And, to make matters even worse for Putin and his cronies, his most precious units were taking a brunt of the hit.
“Some of Russia’s most elite units, including the VDV Airborne Forces, have suffered the highest levels of attrition,” the Ministry also said. “It will probably take years for Russia to reconstitute these forces.”
There are beginning to be serious doubts as to whether or not Russia will be able to even maintain what little of Ukraine they’ve managed to abscond with thus far, leading some international experts to worry that Putin’s ego could usher in an even more worrisome set of tactics in the coming weeks.
