Russian losses 25 times greater than Ukraine’s – British Defense Minister

The heavy losses of Russian military personnel on the battlefield are forcing the Kremlin to actively enlist the help of foreign mercenaries from a number of countries.

This is stated in the Bloomberg article.

Over the past two months, the Defense Forces have struck so many occupiers that the losses of the Russian army have exceeded the number of reinforcements, British Defense Minister John Healy said, citing the words of the head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Mykhailo Fedorov.

Given the significant losses, Russia is forced to rely on thousands of mercenaries from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Cuba, Nigeria, North Korea, and Senegal.

“They are often recruited under false pretenses and coerced into participating under pressure, not necessarily realizing that they are destined for the Russian meat machine on the front lines of Ukraine,” Gili said.

He said that the number of North Korean soldiers who have joined the Russian army alone reaches 17,000.

According to Western officials, Russia lost 415,000 soldiers last year, 15,000 fewer than in 2024. At the same time, the Kremlin’s total losses during the full-scale invasion exceeded 1.2 million.

The British minister noted that in some areas of the front line, Russia is losing 25 times more than Ukraine. However, he is convinced that the Russian army will still be able to wage war in Ukraine in 2026 thanks to recruitment campaigns, industrial production and support from other countries, including China.

Recall that in January, Russian losses exceeded its replenishment by 9 thousand and amounted to almost 32 thousand people.

Earlier, Syrsky reported that over the past 6 months, the number of Russian military personnel in Ukraine has remained almost unchanged and amounts to approximately 711-712 thousand people, including the operational reserve.

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