Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of US European Command, told Congress on Wednesday that Russia’s ground forces are “bigger today” than they were before Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year.
“[T]he Russian ground force has been degenerated somewhat by this conflict, although it is bigger today than it was at the beginning of the conflict,” Cavoli told the House Armed Services Committee.
Last fall, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilization of 300,000 fresh troops and has yet to use them for a major offensive. The heaviest fighting in Ukraine has been taking place in the eastern Donbas city of Bakhmut, but the Wagner Group, a private mercenary force, has been doing much of the fighting.
Cavoli also said Russia’s air force and navy haven’t taken many losses. “The Air Force has lost very little, they’ve lost 80 planes. They have another 1,000 fighters and fighter bombers. The navy has lost one ship,” he said.
Cavoli’s comments are the latest sign that the US doesn’t have much confidence in Ukraine’s chances to turn the tide in the war. Leaked Pentagon documents allegedly released by Jack Teixeira revealed the US doesn’t think Ukraine can regain much territory in its counteroffensive.
The US position was reaffirmed by a recent report from POLITICO that said the Biden administration is preparing for the possibility that the Ukrainian counteroffensive fails.
In the beginning, all we heard was how much Russia lost. Sounds like the US is now admitting it wasn’t much.
In war, both sides suffer casualties. Often the winner loses a lot too. The loser loses more.
Our government and press has kept secret any losses by Ukraine, and any losses of Western efforts to help. It has meanwhile exaggerated all Russian losses.
When you see only one side, the lack of balance is much like being blind.
This is the first modest steo towards climbdown from outrageous claims about Russia’s losses. Niw, finally admitting that Russia did not move any of its bewly mbilized troops into Ukraine, that means that Russia is still operating with their initia intervention force, as well as Donbas military and Wagner contractors. It is also beyond rudiculous that Russia lost 80 planes.
It is hard to maintain a rational discussion and info comparison when such numbers are pulled from the thin air. Russia has used close air support
helicopters and conducts mostly missile attacks.
.
From what i can gather Putin has only 20% of his military forces actually fighting , if he has taken any lessons from Stalin he will have thousands of infantry ready to go , at the end of WW2 Stalin had ten divisions of battle hardened infantry in the East which the US / UK didn`t know about that`s why they feared Stalin`s was going to over run Europe , the reason DDay was launched ti was a mission to grab land to stop Stalin`s alledgedly over running Europe , after the war Stalin was asked if he had plans to his answer was never thought about that.
Considering that Stalin murdered millions of innocent soviet civilians,who cares what he SAID his plans were. Stalin did manage to gobble up all of Eastern Europe, a continuation of centuries ofCzarist expansions to the East. He sure tried to subvert Greece.
This first modest step reeks of panic. They are stumbling at the top of the stairs.
It’s bigger but “degenerated?” How much more “degenerated?” If all it knew was bomb maternity hospitals, get all of its generals killed, and lose every battle, then how more “degenerated” have they become? Why would Ukraine need more fighters and weapons? I’m no expert but it seems like the Russians are getting better at losing this war to Ukraine, all by themselves. (Sarcasm alert)
It dosen`t matter how the Russian military is degenerated the yanks / NATO LACKEYS won`t take them on in a stand up fight , the Russians have a parade for WW2 vets they are all hero`s in the eyes of their families and rightly so , and if push comes to shove the Russians will fight , if you wan`t to get an idea of just how hard they will fight read any books about the battle for Stalingrad .
Yes, the Russian generals killed, their tank “columns” destroyed, their planes shot down with shot guns by farmers, the valiant struggle over Snake Island, the Ghost of Kiev winning dog fight after dog fight, the Russian barracks bombed, the Russians foolishly and savagely losing all of their infantry in ill-concieved, futile “human wave” frontal assaults, etc, etc.
American propaganda, for whatever reason, not only sees fit to lie about the causes of the wars that America starts, about the wrongness of its wars in general, and about how it is the enemy, and never the US, that violates the rules of war as well. No, the enemy must also be painted as a moron, too. As inept. Pitiful, stupid and weak, while, paradoxically, at the same time a threat not only in theater, but to the entire world and world order.
It is bigger, but now it has combat experience too, and has flushed out the worst performing people.
It has found out what works, and suffered losses of things that did not work so well. It has rebuilt based on those lessons.
So yeah, it has had losses. In the balance of power, those horrid human losses and the utter waste of war has actually made them stronger, improved their position.
We saw the same things with the US Army from defeat at Kassarine Pass in 1942 to the brilliant performance of Patton at the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. Meanwhile, Stalin’s Red Army underwent a similar transformation.
LOL in the West it`s military contractors , any where else it`s Mercenaries , the fact is military contractors are mercenaries , just like the word detainee is another word for prisoner of war the difference being detainee isn`t covered by the Geneva convention where as prisnoner of war is .
And are now primarily in prepared defensive positions. And that was not foreseen? Criminal.
Judge Napolino’s retirement hobby on Youtube has been a breath of fresh air given the MSM’s reguritation of State Department lies.
One of his latest has Scott Ritter and is titled, “Reality in Ukraine – Numbers Don’t Look Good”
“US General Says Russian Ground Forces ‘Bigger Today’ Than Before Invasion – Gen. Christopher Cavoli says Russia’s air force has also lost ‘very little'”
OK Captain Obvious! When Russia initially went into Ukraine they essentially had a peace time military. Now Russia is mobilized for war with factories running 24/7 and the armed forces increased in size through activation of reserves.
Russia has brought their latest technology into production and is prosecuting the first land war in Europe since 1945.
Joey Biden has awoken a sleeping giant of a bear and that will never go back into the bottle or cave. He also united the BRICS countries and Global South in Africa, Asia, and South America; which are now non-aligned!
Although over used HUBRIS and Blowback are at play here.
hubris – noun: hubris
“excessive pride”
In Greek tragedy) excessive pride towards or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.
Russia is placing its forces on a limited war footing as of 2023.
https://www.dw.com/en/russia-steps-up-efforts-to-boost-army-size/a-65254262
Blowback negative reactions or results that were not intended, such as criticism, protest, anger, or war.
Agreed and again, they don’t call you “Critical Thinker” for nothing. Well done, friend!
In WW2 Russia fought alone for 2 years weapons ect where supplied by the US and very little from the UK , in the mean time Stalin had all production of weapons moved East out of arms way once production began it wasn`t long before they where out stripping the supplies from the US / UK and the end result was the Red Army defeated NAZI Germany , what makes me laugh is the Brits / Yanks think they won WW2 , nothing could be further from the truth..
The US help was real and important. However, it was only a fraction of the Russian effort. Furthermore, the bigger flow by sea was turned on and off based on losses to the convoys, not due to Russia’s needs.
Russia would have gotten the same result either way, as things turned out. Fears at the time were not so clear about that, and Stalin benefitted by sowing doubts, hence the efforts made at great cost.
It is dangerous to think that Russia could not have done it without us, as if only our help made the Russians capable. It was not true then, and it is no measure of Russia’s capability today.
Russia “mobilized.” It had an army heavy on reservists trained via conscription, the old European model.
Since mobilizations triggered off WW1, mobilization has been an inflection point in security calculations. Everyone had seen how Germany benefitted from well organized mobilizations in the Austro-Prussian and then Franco-Prussian Wars, and that had become far more so as everybody moved to take advantage of that and avoid being on the wrong side of it.
The West has utterly ignored the fact that Russia mobilized. Ignoring it does not change the fact.
A disarmed West now faces a mobilized Russia, and its attitude seems to be “well, that does not matter.” They can’t even seem to imagine how badly this could go as they push a war between NATO and Russia.
Imaginations have not even pictured the possible downsides. Meanwhile, the more radical Russians have talked of their tanks going through Brussels and washing their treads in the Channel waters. Hey, that is Cold War talk, from a time when it was understood to be real. If we just let it happen, it could once again be real.
Aw, they wouldn’t dare, right? Well, these same clowns thought Putin would not dare attack, and then thought Russia would regime change if he tried it. How smart have they been, so far?