{"id":6700,"date":"2023-05-02T15:10:56","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T14:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=6700"},"modified":"2023-05-02T16:53:13","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T15:53:13","slug":"u-s-claims-20000-russians-are-killed-in-ukraine-war-since-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/analysis\/defense\/u-s-claims-20000-russians-are-killed-in-ukraine-war-since-december\/2023\/05\/02\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S claims 20,000 Russians are killed in Ukraine war since December"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> The<\/span> White<\/span> House<\/span> estimated<\/span> that<\/span> Russia<\/span> has<\/span> suffered<\/span> 100,000<\/span> casualties,<\/span> including<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 20,000<\/span> dead,<\/span> since<\/span> December<\/span> as<\/span> it<\/span> repelled<\/span> heavy<\/span> offensives<\/span> by<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> in<\/span> eastern<\/span> Ukraine.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> a<\/span> brutal<\/span> war<\/span> of<\/span> attrition,<\/span> the<\/span> fiercest<\/span> fighting<\/span> has<\/span> taken<\/span> place<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> eastern<\/span> Donetsk<\/span> region,<\/span> where<\/span> Russia<\/span> struggles<\/span> to<\/span> besiege<\/span> the<\/span> city<\/span> of<\/span> Bakhmut<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> face<\/span> of<\/span> stubborn<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> defenses.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>White<\/span> House<\/span> National<\/span> Security<\/span> Council<\/span> spokesman<\/span> John<\/span> Kirby<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> estimates<\/span> were<\/span> based<\/span> on<\/span> newly<\/span> declassified<\/span> US<\/span> intelligence<\/span> agencies.<\/span> He<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> explain<\/span> how<\/span> his<\/span> service<\/span> obtained<\/span> the<\/span> number.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>gene.<\/span> Joint<\/span> Chiefs<\/span> of<\/span> Staff<\/span> Chairman<\/span> Mark<\/span> Milley<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> November<\/span> that<\/span> Russia<\/span> had<\/span> suffered<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 100,000<\/span> casualties<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> war’s<\/span> first<\/span> eight<\/span> months.<\/span> New<\/span> figures<\/span> suggest<\/span> that<\/span> Russian<\/span> casualties<\/span> have<\/span> accelerated<\/span> dramatically<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> months.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Troops<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Russian<\/span> Wagner<\/span> mercenary<\/span> group<\/span> and<\/span> others<\/span> are<\/span> fighting<\/span> against<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> military<\/span> houses<\/span> to<\/span> gain<\/span> control<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> so-called<\/span> “Road<\/span> of<\/span> Life”<\/span> –<\/span> the<\/span> last<\/span> remaining<\/span> road<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> West<\/span> and<\/span> still<\/span> Ukrainian.<\/span> In<\/span> hand,<\/span> supplies<\/span> and<\/span> new<\/span> troops<\/span> play<\/span> a<\/span> vital<\/span> role.<\/span> Both<\/span> sides<\/span> have<\/span> led<\/span> the<\/span> rise<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> past<\/span> few<\/span> days.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> Kirby,<\/span> nearly<\/span> half<\/span> of<\/span> those<\/span> killed<\/span> since<\/span> December<\/span> were<\/span> Wagnerian<\/span> troops,<\/span> many<\/span> of<\/span> whom<\/span> were<\/span> prisoners<\/span> released<\/span> from<\/span> prison<\/span> who<\/span> had<\/span> taken<\/span> part<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> fighting<\/span> in<\/span> Russia.<\/span> He<\/span> said<\/span> Wagner’s<\/span> forces<\/span> were<\/span> “thrown<\/span> into<\/span> battle<\/span> without<\/span> adequate<\/span> combat<\/span> or<\/span> combat<\/span> training,<\/span> combat<\/span> leadership,<\/span> or<\/span> a<\/span> sense<\/span> of<\/span> organizational<\/span> command<\/span> and<\/span> control.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> White<\/span> House<\/span> has<\/span> repeatedly<\/span> tried<\/span> to<\/span> highlight<\/span> the<\/span> human<\/span> and<\/span> weapon<\/span> damage<\/span> Bakhmut<\/span> inflicted<\/span> on<\/span> Russia.<\/span> But<\/span> some<\/span> analysts<\/span> say<\/span> taking<\/span> Bakhmut<\/span> under<\/span> control<\/span> could<\/span> help<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> efforts<\/span> to<\/span> expand<\/span> into<\/span> the<\/span> big<\/span> cities<\/span> of<\/span> Kramatorsk<\/span> and<\/span> Sloviansk<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Donetsk<\/span> region.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Kirby<\/span> notes<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> Russian<\/span> casualties<\/span> in<\/span> “this<\/span> little<\/span> town<\/span> of<\/span> Bakhmut”<\/span> are<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> significant<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> battles<\/span> during<\/span> World<\/span> War<\/span> II,<\/span> including<\/span> the<\/span> Battle<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Bulge<\/span> and<\/span> Guadalcanal,<\/span> the<\/span> last<\/span> major<\/span> German<\/span> offensive<\/span> campaign<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> Western<\/span> Front.<\/span> The<\/span> first<\/span> large-scale<\/span> Allied<\/span> attack<\/span> on<\/span> Japan.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“That’s<\/span> three<\/span> times<\/span> the<\/span> number<\/span> of<\/span> Americans<\/span> killed<\/span> in<\/span> action<\/span> during<\/span> World<\/span> War<\/span> II’s<\/span> Guadalcanal<\/span> operation,<\/span> and<\/span> in<\/span> five<\/span> months,”<\/span> Kirby<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Colonel<\/span> General<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> Army<\/span> Commander<\/span> Oleksandr<\/span> Shirsky<\/span> said<\/span> Russia<\/span> was<\/span> making<\/span> “maximum<\/span> efforts”<\/span> to<\/span> capture<\/span> Bakhmut,<\/span> but<\/span> so<\/span> far<\/span> failed.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“In<\/span> parts<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> city,<\/span> the<\/span> enemy<\/span> was<\/span> attacked<\/span> by<\/span> our<\/span> troops<\/span> and<\/span> abandoned<\/span> some<\/span> positions,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Kirby<\/span> declined<\/span> to<\/span> say<\/span> how<\/span> many<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> troops<\/span> were<\/span> killed<\/span> or<\/span> wounded<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> battle.<\/span> Mily<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> November<\/span> that<\/span> there<\/span> were<\/span> likely<\/span> about<\/span> 100,000<\/span> victims<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> as<\/span> well.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House estimated that Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 dead, since December as it repelled heavy offensives by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.\u00a0 In a brutal war of attrition, the fiercest fighting has taken place in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia struggles to besiege the city […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[26,276,2400,2480,2482],"tags":[1374,4389,1376,4391,1378,4394,1708,4395,1760,4444,1764,1765,1960,2537,2538,2587,2591,3277,1225,4385,1314,4387,1324,4388],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/us.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6700"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6724,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6700\/revisions\/6724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}