Russia‘s losses in Ukraine force Putin to desperation, now involving North Korean troops – U.S. Defense Secretary
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revealed that Russia has incurred significant losses in its full-scale war against Ukraine, driving Russian President Vladimir Putin to desperation and forcing him to draft North Korean troops into the conflict.
Source: Lloyd Austin’s remarks at a press conference after the "Ramstein" format meeting held in Germany on January 9, reported by "European Truth".
dataframe with more details, 700,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since 2022, representing two-thirds of Russia’s initial military strength at the start of the war. Staggeringly, Russia has been losing nearly 1,500 soldiers each day on average in November 2024 alone.
Austin also highlighted Russia’s struggle to replenish its losses, stating that Moscow has been resorting to "recruiting prisoners and coercing contractors" into combat roles. In a sign of desperation, Austin noted that Russia has even deployed troops from North Korea, incurring heavy losses. Since their involvement in December 2023, North Korean troops have suffered over 1,000 casualties, though Austin acknowledged that actual figures may be much higher.
Previous assessments by British intelligence also underscored Russia’s record-breaking losses in 2024, with December being the month that saw the most casualties. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Russian losses by January 9, 2025, exceeded 803,000 military personnel.
In early December 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that approximately 43,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed, and over 370,000 wounded, since the conflict began on February 24, 2022. In comparison, Russian losses at that time surpassed 750,000, with over 198,000 killed and more than 550,000 wounded.
These stunning figures paint a grim picture of Russia’s struggle to maintain its military capabilities in the face of devastating losses in the war against Ukraine.
