Russia suffers record losses sending its army into the minefields in eastern Ukraine
In the first half of February, Russia suffered record losses in eastern Ukraine, according to the joint analysis of Mediazona and the Russian service of the BBC.
A team of volunteers from the media outlets analyzed social networks during 15 days and established 1,555 names of killed Russian servicemen. According to the publication, this is the largest increase in losses in the entire war. At the same time, Mediazona notes that the real number of deaths may be several times higher. In addition, the number of missing and captured persons is unknown.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russian losses range from 500 to a thousand people daily.
The huge numbers are due to the offensive of the Russian army in the Donbas, with Russian commanders trying to achieve meaningful results in capturing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. Russians are trying to gain more territory, regardless of the losses, before the Ukrainian Army receives Western tanks and armored vehicles.
Russians are using a tactic popular in the Soviet Red Army, when soldiers are sent into attacks in "human waves" - under enemy fire, according to a report by the Rand Corporation.
Experts of the center believe that although this is not the most advanced way to wage war, it is not devoid of efficiency. Therefore, one should not expect a Ukrainian counteroffensive, similar to the one that allowed the regain control of the Kharkiv region. Now the Ukrainian military is strengthening the harrow lines, they "mined them and dug in."
At the same time, Russia, having assembled a 300,000-strong army of recently recruited civilians and inmates, is trying to storm open areas littered with mines, "where they are met by heavy fire from Ukrainian artillery." At the same time, the recruits are significantly less equipped and trained than the initial invasion force that Moscow sent across the border last February.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace at a meeting of NATO countries noted that Russian president Vladimir Putin and the General Staff of the Russian Federation "deny reality or ignore reality, or they simply do not care how many of their own people they kill."
The Russian offensive in the Donbas has been going on for several days, but Russia clearly does not enough forces to achieve considerable results.