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Russia ‘lost nearly half’ of its combat effectiveness since invading Ukraine: UK
Russia has lost approximately half of its combat effectiveness since it launched its invasion of Ukraine which has become a “catastrophic failure” for Moscow, Britain's Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said on Wednesday.
Radakin told a parliamentary hearing: “The manner in which Russia has conducted its illegal invasion of Ukraine… [Russia] has lost nearly 50 percent of the combat effectiveness of its army for very, very little gains.”
He stressed that the invasion was a “catastrophic failure for Russia,” and added that consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine included: “[It] has a diminished place in the world [and] an economy under pressure.”
As for the Russian military machine, Radakin said: “It has approximately fired last year over 10 million shells, and at best it can produce maybe 1 million shells a year. It has lost over 2,500 tanks and at best can replace those tanks at the rate of 200 tanks a year.”
He praised the Ukrainian’s counter-offensive efforts: “Even in the last few weeks, Ukraine has taken back more ground than Russia has taken in the last year.”
He also addressed questions on whether the counter-offensive was moving too slowly or didn’t achieve as much as anticipated. “In terms of where the [Ukrainian] counter-offensive is at the moment… The full counter-offensive still hasn’t happened. I would describe it as a policy of staff, stretch and strike. Staff the Russian lines and attack their logistics, their command and control.. You then have, stretch, which is how do you take a front line which is over a thousand kilometers [long] and make that more of a problem for Russia than it is for Ukraine?”
He added: “That’s why you’re seeing multiple axes being probed and feints from Ukraine at present. And you’re seeing Ukrainian forces that are yet to breach the defensive lines of Russia that has dug in over the winter.”
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