Global Courant 2023-05-03 11:29:01
The White House predicts that the expected counter-offensive by Ukrainian troops will end in a “bloodbath”.
Source: The Washington Postciting government sources
Details: “The rate at which Russian troops are killed or wounded in Ukraine has risen in recent months, according to estimates released this week by the White House,” says the Washington Post: Some 20,000 Russians have been killed since December alone into action, and another 80,000 were wounded.
According to US officials, many of these casualties occurred in Bakhmut. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has said nearly half of those 20,000 dead Russians are Wagner Group fighters, particularly convicts recruited to the front.
The US has said such fierce fighting shows the bloody carnage could get worse after the start of Kiev’s counter-offensive to retake the occupied territories.
An intelligence leak obtained by the Washington Post in late February showed that 42,500 Russian soldiers and up to 17,000 Ukrainians have died in combat since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute who has closely followed the conflict, said Russian troops suffered significant losses during the winter offensive at Vuhledar, Kreminna, Marinka and elsewhere. “When you attack, you’re usually going to take more casualties,” Lee noted.
Given this, he suggests that a Ukrainian counter-offensive could face similar obstacles and increase casualties among Ukrainian soldiers.
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