Vladimir Putin was left reeling after new research showed that Russia’s army has suffered massive casualties among its officer corps. Russia’s army has met fierce resistance throughout its almost year-long war in Ukraine. Kyiv has estimated that over 120,000 Russian soldiers have lost their lives in Putin’s so-called “special military operation”.
Among those confirmed dead are some 1,576 Russian officers, which includes eight Major Generals.
Two Lieutenant Generals and some 49 Colonels are also numbered among the casualties, showing that not even senior officers have been spared the slaughter.
The astonishing figures were published on the Twitter page of Killed in Ukraine (KIU), which monitors public announcements in Russia of military funerals.
KIU wrote: “By 22 December, Ukrainian forces had eliminated at least 1 576 Russian junior and senior officers.
“Minimum confirmed losses. Confirmations are made via publicly available data from Russia, such as funeral notices, obituaries or news sites.”
The loss of so many officers represents a significant blow to Putin’s army, depriving it of essential leaders on the battlefield.
To put the figures into some kind of context, Russia’s officer corps has suffered more than three times the number of fatalities than the British army sustained among all its personnel during twenty years in Afghanistan.
According to the statistics website statista.com, there were 454 fatalities of British military and civilians in Afghanistan between October 2001 and August 30, 2021.
Russia’s special forces have been active in Ukraine and have reportedly sustained their fair share of war dead.
In a rare admission of their presence in Ukraine, Russian military officials confirmed the death of Lieutenant Colonel Boris Mikheev, who died during a battle with Ukrainian units on August 4, 2022.
He served in Solnechnogorsk where the Senezh GRU Spetnaz unit, training centre, and command are based.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence recently posted an announcement to its website, announcing the special forces officer had been posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
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Berlin’s refusal to commit for now has infuriated fellow Nato members, who expressed their openly expressed their anger at Germany’s dithering.
Poland’s Foreign Minister said the delay would cost more Ukrainian lives and prolong the war.
In a tweet Zbigniew Rau wrote: “Arming Ukraine in order to repel the Russian aggression is not some kind of decision-making exercise.
“Ukrainian blood is shed for real. This is the price of hesitation over Leopard deliveries.
“We need action, now.”
