Russia has lost about half its combat effectiveness since launching its invasion of Ukraine, which has turned out to be a “catastrophic failure” for Moscow, British Chief of Defense Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said on Wednesday.
Radakin told a parliamentary hearing: “The way Russia has carried out its illegal invasion of Ukraine…it has lost almost 50 percent of the combat effectiveness of its army for very, very little gain.”
He stressed that the invasion was a “disastrous failure for Russia,” adding that the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine include: “A reduced place in the world [and] an economy under strain.”
As for the Russian military machine, Radakin said: “Last year, it fired roughly over 10 million shells, and at its best, it can produce maybe 1 million shells a year. It has lost more than 2,500 tanks and can, at best, replace them at the rate of 200 tanks a year.”
He praised the counter-offensive efforts of the Ukrainians: “Even in the last few weeks, Ukraine has regained more ground than Russia in the last year.”
He also responded to questions about whether the counter-offensive was progressing too slowly or had not achieved its intended objectives. “As for the current situation of the [Ukrainian] counteroffensive… The full counteroffensive has not yet occurred. I would describe it as a policy of personnel, stretch and attack.
Personnel the Russian lines and attack their logistics, their command and control … Then there is the extension, which is how to take a front line over a thousand kilometers [long] and make it more of a problem for Russia than Ukraine.” ; he acknowledged that Russian mines and that Ukraine does not have the military equipment it has requested from the allies have slowed down Zelensky’s forces.
He added: “That is why you are seeing multiple axes probed and feints from Ukraine today. And you are looking at Ukrainian forces that have not yet broken through the defensive lines of Russia that have dug in over the winter.”
Jon Jackson
