The commander of NATO said on Wednesday that although Russia is hurting politically and economically.
It still has a “high tolerance for casualties” after losing a significant number of troops, tanks, and aircraft in Ukraine.
The Western military alliance’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, described the changes.
That Russia “high tolerance” has undergone since beginning its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Russia has regressed while”high tolerance Ukraine has advanced. Politically, militarily, and economically, it is now weaker,” he declared.
The military of Russia “has lost a significant portion of its conventional forces.“high tolerance” Numerous airplanes. Numerous tanks in thousands. and over 300,000 fatalities,” stated Stoltenberg.
Additionally, he claimed that Russia was growing increasingly reliant on China and was losing influence with its neighbors, particularly those in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
“Year by year, Moscow is mortgaging its future to Beijing,” he stated.
According to Stoltenberg, Russia is also facing economic pressures. Revenues from gas and oil are declining. Sanctions apply to banking assets in Russia “high tolerance“. More than a thousand international businesses have ceased operations or reduced them in the nation. Additionally, 1.3 million Russians departed last year,” he stated.
“This highlights Putin’s tactical error in entering Ukraine,” the speaker stated, alluding to the president of Russia.
However, Stoltenberg cautioned that “we must not underestimate Russia” and that it would be foolish to believe that Russia will end its invasion as a result of all of this.
“Russia’s economy is on a war footing,” he stated. “Putin accepts casualties with great tolerance. And Russia’s objectives in Ukraine remain unchanged.
Russia was forced back east, where it has been engaged in a bloody conflict with Ukrainian forces.
Despite its expectations that it would be able to take Ukraine in a matter of days.
Some have“high tolerance” cautioned that Putin is unlikely to abandon his war effort unless he manages to turn the situation into a Russian victory.
This might entail taking some territory from Ukraine, which Russia is unlikely to halt even though Ukraine has stated it is unwilling to accept.
This month, a Ukrainian negotiator stated that although Russia had promised to halt its assault in the spring of 2022 if Ukraine gave up on its aspiration to join NATO, there was mistrust over Russia’s sincerity.
Expert opinions on Russia concur with Stoltenberg’s conclusions.
According to experts consulted by Business Insider, since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, relations with some of its closest allies have deteriorated.
Numerous analysts high tolerance and Western intelligence have reported a steady degradation of its military, including its elite airborne troops, ground forces, and fleet.
This month, a spokesman for the Kremlin stated that Russia was on the verge of economic collapse the previous year.
Several commentators believe that Putin’s strategy is likely to carry on in spite of setbacks, waiting for Ukraine and her friends to give up.
Ukraine is growingly concerned that the US and other EU members, among other allies, are becoming weary. The US presidential election of the next year is likewise a cause for anxiety.
This week, a second Russian military member was discovered dead for unclear reasons.
According to the Kyiv Post, Lieutenant General Vladimir Sviridov, 68, and his wife Tatyana, 72, were discovered dead in their bedroom on Wednesday.
The Post reported that they appeared to have been dead for approximately a week before they were found.
According to the Kyiv Post, Sviridov oversaw Russia’s Air Defense and 6th Army of the Air Force from 2005 to 2009.
The couple did not seem to have died violently, according to Baza, a Russian Telegram channel,
And no toxic substances were found in any initial bloodwork, according to the Kyiv Post.
The Baza channel claims that “what caused the death of Vladimir and Tatyana Sviridov is still unknown.”
Sviridov voiced criticism of the Russian army in the 2000s, claiming that pilots there lacked proper training, while he was a commander.
For a pilot to be fully prepared for combat, they need to log roughly 100 hours of flight time annually.
But as the Kyiv Post reports, he stated in one interview that “this is not yet the case.” “The average flight time in the army is currently 25-30 hours.”
According to the Kyiv Post, he claimed in a different interview that the army appointed inexperienced officers because they were short on skilled ones.
For years, Putin’s opponents and detractors have perished under mysterious circumstances.
But now that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is almost two years old, the number of deaths appears to be increasing.
Ivan Pechorin was a Russian energy executive who died last September after falling from his boat into the sea.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group and mastermind of a Moscow coup, passed away in an odd plane crash in late August.
According to the Kyiv Post, the Kremlin and Russian official media have not yet responded to Sviridov’s passing.
Major General Vladimir Popov of Russia called the death “absurd.”
He told News.ru, “I was devastated to learn of his passing.” “It’s unfortunate that individuals of this caliber, deserving of respect and consideration, pass away in this manner.
Russia is undermining its power by packing an elite paratrooper force with ill-trained soldiers, according to UK intelligence.
Russia’s formerly renowned paratrooper force, the VDV,
Was the subject of an intelligence update provided by the UK Ministry of Defence on Thursday.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has “likely started deploying the newly formed 104th Guards Airborne Division (104 GAD) in Ukraine for the first time,” according to the update.
According to the update, it would increase the number of VDV divisions from its previous level of four to five.
However, according to the MOD, this division “is unlikely to meet the erstwhile elite standards of the VDV” and will “likely be poorly trained.”
The VDV has historically functioned as a rapid-intervention force and shock troops, as previously reported by Business Insider.
However, as the invasion of Ukraine carries on, both that role and the makeup of the troops in it have changed.
Even though it is highly likely that the VDV’s units were not even operating at maximum capacity.
The UK MOD claimed in September that Russia was using the VDV as regular infantry to make up for other overstretched forces.
In a similar analysis released that same month, the US think tank Institute for the Study of War claimed.
That Russia was utilizing the VDV in a manner similar to that of regular infantry, possibly designating them as “airborne in name only.”
Additionally, it stated last month that the VDV’s resolve to fight had waned to “critical levels” as a result of severe defeats.
Russia’s troops have become worse as the invasion, which it began in February 2022, carries on.
The Ukrainian military asserted that Russian troops are suffering injuries from their own minefields as a result of commanders refusing to divulge their locations.
The evaluation was provided by the military of Ukraine in a Wednesday update.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War noted the information in English in its daily update.
The Ukrainian account claims that because the location of the mines is classified information.
The troops operating close to Kherson were not informed of its location.
Russian units were “refusing to conduct assaults on Ukrainian positions due to a lack of artillery coordination, tactical intelligence transmission.
And proper communication about the location of Russian minefields,” according to the ISW, citing Ukrainian officials.
“The Ukrainian General Staff reported that maps of the Russian minefields are classified and.
That Russian commanders have not properly coordinated with assault units.
About the locations of these minefields, “high tolerance” leading to 50 casualties among elements of the 810th Naval Infantry.
Brigade in the last month,” according to the ISW.
The state of affairs there “continues to degrade Russian morale and combat capabilities,” according to the report.
Since the summer, Ukrainian forces have been attempting to breach Russian defenses in the south of the country.
It has proven challenging to cross the Dnipro River, which naturally divides the two sides in the Kherson region.
Large-scale minefields that Russia built to protect its positions along the front line have posed a significant challenge to Ukraine.
According to the most recent update, they are impeding the Russians’ progress as well.
According to The Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Russia has repeatedly faced issues as a result of ineffective military communications and commanders.
Ukrainian forces have gained ground in the eastern, “high tolerance” Russian-occupied Dnipro bank in recent weeks, marking a minor but significant victory.
Russia’s forces have mainly succeeded in rebuffing Ukraine’s summer counterattack.
Though gradual, the successful incursion into Russian-occupied territory in the south has stoked optimism.
That Ukraine may be able to achieve a breakthrough, experts told CNBC.