“The Russians are taking a huge number of casualties,” Colin Kahl, undersecretary for policy at the Ministry of Defense, told reporters.
“There’s a lot of fog in the war, but I think it’s safe to say that the Russians probably have 70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six months. Now, that’s a combination of killed in action and wounded in action and that number might be a little lower, a little higher, but I think it’s kind of in the ballpark,” Kahl said.
The number of Russian casualties is higher than previous US estimates. CIA Director William Burns late last month estimated that 15,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine and about 45,000 wounded.
Burns admitted, however, that intelligence estimates of battlefield casualties are “always a range” and “there is no perfect number.”
Russia likely suffered most of its casualties in the first phase of its invasion, when it tried but failed to capture Kyiv and western parts of Ukraine from 24 February. such as Donbas, using long-range weapons to hit targets.
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Kahl said the number of Russian casualties was “remarkable” given that Moscow “has not achieved any of Vladimir Putin’s goals” since invading Ukraine six months ago.
He attributed the stark numbers to Ukraine’s morale and will to fight, which he said is “undeniable and much higher, I think, than the average morale and will to fight on the Russian side.”
“I think this gives the Ukrainians a significant advantage,” Kahl added.
