Ukraine invasion is “disastrous” for Russian army

Day after day, the Russian army keeps failing to overtake Ukraine, amid numerous anecdotal reports of abandoned Russian equipment and even claims that some Russian troops are abandoning the fight. But just how poorly is this all going for the Russian military?

Ukrainian news outlet The Kyiv Independent has posted updated statistics from the Ukrainian government about just how bad Russia’s losses have been. It includes 11,000 troops, 999 armored personnel carriers, 290 tanks, and 68 helicopters, among other losses.

We’ve long cautioned audiences that in war, such numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt, even when coming from the “good guys,” because these numbers can be strategically exaggerated to try to break the enemy’s spirit. But military expert Mark Hertling tweeted that if these numbers “are even close, they are disastrous.”

Hertling also added that “the Russians haven’t even entered into ‘close combat’ with Ukrainian forces in most cities. The RU are going to take a shellacking there.” In other words, this all may be going even more poorly for Vladimir Putin than we thought.