Over 220,000 Russian troops have been killed or injured since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News, citing U.S. intelligence.
"The Russian forces have some really significant and deep systemic problems at the moment in their efforts. The latest U.S. assessments I have seen now put casualty figures over 220,0000 dead or injured," Wallace said, as quoted by Sky News.
Wallace added that the Russian military was making "almost no progress whatsoever."
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on March 29 that Russia had lost approximately 172,340 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year.
This number includes 610 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Although the exact number of casualties remains unclear, Russian officials have repeatedly demonstrated that they view their military as expendable.
When speaking of Russian military casualties in November 2022, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said, "We are all mortal, and someday all of us will leave this world. It is inevitable." He went on to liken military casualties to road accidents and alcohol-related incidents.
The U.K. Defense Ministry has also reported on the inadequacy of training and weapons supplied to the Russian military. In its March 5 intelligence update, the ministry wrote that freshly-mobilized Russian soldiers were ordered to assault a Ukrainian strong point with only "firearms and shovels."
Illia Ponomarenko
