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发帖数: 22479 | 1 The Week
More Russian troops were killed in Ukraine in 2 weeks than U.S. troops in
entire Iraq War, U.S. estimates
Peter Weber, Senior editor
Thu, March 10, 2022
Russian forces continue to make inroads in southern Ukraine, but few
military experts seem to think the war is going very well for Russia. The
invading army has suffered "very, very significant casualties," a U.S.
official told CBS News on Wednesday, putting the U.S. estimate at between 5,
000 and 6,000 Russian troops killed in action. That's comparable to losses
in World War II battles, the U.S. official said. It's also, as Fox News'
Jacqui Heinrich notes, "more than the number of Americans killed during the
Iraq War."
The U.S. estimate is about halfway between the 500 Russian casualties Moscow
claims and the 12,000 Russian deaths claimed by Ukraine. The U.S.
intelligence estimate also puts Ukraine's casualties at 2,000 to 4,000
killed troops plus hundreds or thousands of slain civilians.
Ukrainian forces continue to destroy a stalled 40-mile-long Russian military
convoy north of Kyiv, and the "unexpected effectiveness" of Ukraine's air
defenses has curtailed Russian air activity, Britain's Ministry of Defense
said early Thursday, in its latest public intelligence assessment. And as
Russian casualties mount, including among conscripted troops, Russian
President Vladimir Putin "will be forced to draw from across the Russian
Armed Forces and other sources to replace his losses."
Putin planned his "disastrous" Ukraine war "in high secrecy in order to
avoid leaks," and his risk-reward analysis was skewed by a lack contingency
planning from his tiny circle of generals, misplaced optimism in Russia's
sanctions-proofing, and the surprisingly "deplorable state of Russian
expertise on Ukraine," Russia expert Alexander Gabuev at the Carnegie Moscow
Center tweeted Wednesday. The result is "a tragedy for Ukraine, and a
catastrophe for Russia."
"Putin truly believed people would greet (Russians) with flowers. Instead,
they were met with Molotov cocktails," Ukrainian diplomat Volodomyr
Shalkivskyi said at Australia's National Press Club on Thursday. "Russian
soldiers going into Ukraine did not have extra ammo or food in their packs.
They did however have a parade uniform for a Russian victory parade through
Kyiv," he added. "You cannot win a war against a free people determined to
fight for their freedom. There is no way we will give up." |
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