Russia is suffering “enormous” losses in men and equipment in its war in Ukraine and its army will emerge “weakened” from the conflict, a senior German army official said in an interview published Friday.
“You know that, according to figures from Western intelligence services, 300,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or so seriously injured that they can no longer be mobilized in the war,” General Christian told the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung Freuding, who oversees support for Kiev within the Bundeswehr. “The Russian losses in men and equipment are enormous,” judged the German general. Concerning equipment, “we think that they (the Russians, editor’s note) lost a number of tanks and armored units numbering in the thousands and at the high end of the range,” he added.
The general, who is also one of the main advisers to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, confirmed an assessment by American intelligence services which had leaked on December 12, and according to which 315,000 Russian soldiers have been injured or killed since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
At the same time, “the Russians still manage to recruit personnel, among other things by bringing in detainees” to the front, said General Freunding, “and we are of course observing massive investments in the arms industry “. Moscow demonstrates a “capacity for resistance” greater than what Western countries assessed at the start of the war, he recognizes. “We may not have seen, or we didn’t want to see, that they are able to continue to get supplies from allies, whether it’s North Korea, China or states of the Global South,” adds the officer.