2023-05-20 23:16:26
There are hardly any certainties in the Ukraine war. Ukraine has now published the number of Russian fighters in the country – but that is not verifiable either.
Kiev – According to estimates by the Ukrainian military intelligence service, as of mid-May several hundred thousand Russians are deployed in the Ukraine war. Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov put the total number at 400,000 fighters. During an appearance on state television on Tuesday (May 16), he also provided a breakdown by various units and clients.
The purely military component consists of around 370,000 soldiers, said Budanov. There are also around 20,000 members of the Russian Guard, an elite paramilitary unit in the Russian Federation. Private groups provided almost 7,000 more fighters. The latter includes the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. This data cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine gives numbers: 400,000 Russians in the country – but no personnel for the offensive?
According to Budanov, very few foreigners are fighting on the side of Russia. “They never bothered to let foreigners fight,” he said. “Rather, they have taken the approach of making up for losses in Ukraine with prisoners.” Ukraine, on the other hand, apparently has some fighters without Ukrainian passports in their ranks – a former Bundeswehr soldier recently reported to the Münchner Merkur from his experiences in the war. The mercenary group “Mozart” is also well-known.
According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, the Russian armed forces currently do not have enough personnel to conduct large-scale offensives. Rather, the Russian military prepared to defend conquered territories.
Russia’s losses in the Ukraine war: there is no certainty
Ukraine estimates that Russian troops have lost nearly 200,000 since the invasion began in February. However, from the daily updated statistics of the General Staff it is not clear whether this refers only to the dead or also to the wounded. Neither party to the conflict publishes actual figures on troop strength or casualties.
However, there are certainly reports of recruitment attempts by Russia and its mercenary armies abroad. For example, there was speculation regarding recruitment measures in Afghanistan. The independent portal published just on Tuesday Medusa also one Report on the recruitment of former IS fighters. However, these are apparently used away from the front in Ukraine – in infiltration attempts, for example in Turkey and the USA.
Ukraine also disclosed in detail the pay of its fighters in April. (dpa/fn)
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