Kiev, Moscow will lose another 70,000 men in the next 4-5 months
The Russian army will lose up to 70,000 men in the next 4-5 months, but the Kremlin seems to be “ready” to face these losses: said the spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, Andrii Cherniak, as reported by the Kyiv Independent. Russia will probably “continue offensive operations this year,” Cherniak said, according to whom the Russians “understand that they will lose” on the battlefield, but have no intention of ending the war.
Ukrainian intelligence, the spokesman continued, is “sure” that Moscow will still try to capture the Donetsk region and will do everything to keep its land corridor on the southern coast towards the occupied Crimea. Senior Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, are warning that Russia could launch a major offensive from multiple directions early this year. Russian troops “could attack simultaneously from the north and east,” Cherniak said, but “these enemy actions are expected and our troops are ready,” he added.
The Kyiv Independent notes that Russia’s achievements on the battlefield remain limited, even though fighting has been very hard in the east and south of the country. Russian troops have been forced to withdraw from 40% of the Ukrainian territories they occupied at the start of the invasion in February.