““Doesn’t have all the cards.” Despite the superiority in the war against Ukraine, it will be difficult for Russia to keep its gains – the head of the Pentagon January 9, 10:36 Share: Head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin (Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that even though Russia , seemingly has the upper hand in its incursion into Ukraine, the Kremlin faces a growing number of challenges that will complicate any attempt to consolidate”, — write on: ua.news
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin (Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that even as Russia appears to have the upper hand in its incursion into Ukraine, the Kremlin faces a growing number of challenges that will complicate any attempt to consolidate its gains.
He stated this in an interview with Bloomberg.
“There is a perception that Russia has the advantage here and has all the advantages… It has some advantages, but it does not completely dominate the equation. And if she gets what she wants, it will be costly in the future,” Austin emphasized.
That consideration, he said, should be factored into any ceasefire push that the new Donald administration might make.
According to Austin, the Russians “also not without challenges” and turned to the DPRK, Iran for help, weapons and ammunition, “and now also people”.
In addition, the head of the Pentagon noted that the occupation of large areas of Ukraine will also require significant resources even after the ceasefire.
“Russia will have to bring in a lot of ground forces to hold it,” he said.
Austin also responded to criticism from some European and Ukrainian officials that President Joe Biden’s administration does not have a clear strategy to support Ukraine.
“What she did helped Ukraine survive, helped Ukraine protect its sovereign territory… Losses [Росії] 700 thousand soldiers killed and wounded — this would have been unimaginable three years ago,” he said.
Austin cited Syria as another example of strategic success in helping Ukraine counter Russia. According to him, because Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has focused so much of his efforts in Ukraine, he has been unable to help his ally, ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad.
The US defense secretary stressed that the lack of access to a key naval base in Syria calls into question Putin’s ability to sustain his efforts in Africa.
Losses of Russia in the war against Ukraine – what is known
According to ISW, during the period of intense offensive operations of the Russian Federation in September, October and November 2024, the Russians lost about 125,800 people killed and wounded in exchange for the capture of 2,356 square kilometers of territory.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the Armed Forces eliminated 430,790 Russian occupiers in 2024. Conditionally, this is the number of almost 36 motorized rifle divisions of the ground forces of the Russian army.
The largest number of irreversible and sanitary losses in the manpower of the aggressor country for a month was recorded in December 2024 — 48,670 soldiers. It is also the highest since the start of the full-scale invasion.
The Ukrainian project I want to find, which was separated from the project I want to live, received data on 50,000 missing Russian soldiers as a result of the Kremlin-initiated war in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian estimates, the total number of missing occupiers is more than 100,000.