2023-09-30 04:18:54
Nineteen months into the Ukrainian war after the beginning of the Russian invasion, the continuous fighting between the Russian army and Ukrainian troops has become a conflict of attrition. Daily attacks by both sides and while Kyiv’s counteroffensive is recovering territory, the Russian forces seem to be reaching no further. The longevity of the conflict has exposed, in the eyes of the world, Moscow, and especially Vladimir Putin, questioned by the Kremlin and who could be the victim of an “Operation Valkyrie” according to some experts.
Russia has what is considered the second best army in the world, behind the United States, although some experts consider Moscow’s forces to be above those of Washington. But the results in Ukraine call this feat into question. The latest estimates, dated September 9, 2023, provided by the Ukrainian Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s total combat losses, raise the number of Russian soldiers killed to 268,140. However, US officials believe the figure is somewhat lower, around 120,000 dead soldiers. Likewise, the figure was published by ‘The New York Times’ in mid-August along with the number of Russian soldiers injured in the conflict, which fluctuated between 170,000 and 180,000.
Why is it difficult for Russia to advance in the Ukraine war?
Data that has led the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, to ask the Kremlin to plan to drastically increase the size of the country’s military forces. In April, the leak of classified official US documents from February and March showed that US officials believed Russia had used 527 of its 544 available battalions in the Ukraine war, according to a CNN article. ‘The New York Times’ estimates that Russia has almost tripled the number of soldiers in its army compared to Ukraine, with 1,330,000 more soldiers among active military, reservists and paramilitary forces.
Despite this, experts question the Russian forces, as well as the Kremlin itself and other institutions such as the Wagner group, calling Putin into question. After the military uprising of the Wagner Group at the end of June, it is now even the paramilitary group the Freedom Legion that is trying to put the Russian president in trouble. As explained by Europa Press, the Freedom Legion Telegram account has announced that “our groups are already working in the Belgorod region. There are no injuries or deaths among the legionnaires, we are working as planned.”
Coup threat against Putin? Radicals and mercenaries do not forget “the death or murder of Prigozhin”
After the death of Wagner’s former leader, Prigozhin, experts already considered that the circles close to the mercenary group and others like it “would not forget what Putin did against this boss and would always wait for a suitable moment to organize another coup d’état.” .
And it all comes from the beginning of a war that many did not want. A few days after the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Kremlin itself rebelled against the president. Andrey Kortunov, a senior Kremlin adviser, broke ranks to call for a ceasefire in Ukraine. A war that he considers “shameful” for Russia, and that has caused the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, to turn the country “into a pariah on the international stage,” in the diplomat’s words.
Thus, little by little experts have appeared, especially from American and British intelligence, who have assured that “a victory for Ukraine is closer than for Russia,” which has led to the belief that Russia “is not as strong as it seems.” “. “Does Russia really think it has the best army in the world?” they say, explaining that the “special military operation” that was intended to last “a few days” from Moscow is close to 600 days.
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