Russia has lost one-third of its combat forces in Ukraine – UK

The United Kingdom has said that Russia has likely lost one-third of its ground combat forces in Ukraine since the invasion on February 24.

According to the UK’s Defence Ministry, Russia forces who remain in Ukraine are heavily depleted and have been unable to make any territorial progress in recent weeks.

 

Russia “has now likely suffered losses of one-third of the ground combat force it committed in February,” the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense said in an update on Sunday, May 15.

 

“Russia’s Donbas offensive has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule,” the report says.

“Despite small-scale initial advances, Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month whilst sustaining consistently high levels of attrition.”

 

The UK government also said these losses will “almost certainly” be worsened as tactical and support equipment continues to run out.

“These delays will almost certainly be exacerbated by the loss of critical enablers such as bridging equipment and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drones,” the UK government said.

“Russian bridging equipment has been in short supply throughout the conflict, slowing and restricting offensive maneuvers.”

 

The report added: “Russian forces are increasingly constrained by … low morale and reduced combat effectiveness.”

“Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days.”

 

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24 Western intelligence predicted Ukrainian troops would be forced to surrender within weeks but Ukrainian forces have fended off the aggressors.