The Pentagon has assessed that Russia’s “combat power” in Ukraine — comprising more than 150,000 troops massed in Belarus and western Russian prior to the invasion — has dipped below 90 percent of its original force for the first time, reflecting the losses Russian troops have suffered at the hands of Ukrainian soldiers.
A senior defense official, who was not authorized to discuss details of Russia’s actions in Ukraine publicly, said Tuesday morning that Russian forces were “struggling on many fronts,” including routine supply lines and logistics, and that the Pentagon had seen indications that some Russian troops had been evacuated because of frostbite.
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Pentagon officials have said that losing 10 percent of a military force, including both those killed and injured, renders a single unit unable to carry out combat-related tasks. Such losses also affect the morale and cohesion of a military unit.
The defense official also said that the Pentagon had seen no indication that Russian forces are moving toward the use of chemical or biological weapons.
On Monday, President Biden stressed the possibility that Putin might turn to such weapons, which are banned by international treaty. “His back is against the wall,” Biden said at a meeting of U.S. business leaders.
Yes, that is a contradiction.
The senior defense official said Russian forces continued to rely on long-range artillery and rockets attacks on cities because Russian soldiers had not been able to make progress on the ground in taking population centers like Kyiv.
In the past 24 hours, Russian warships in the Sea of Azov have been shelling Mariupol for the first time...
We have had good days before so this may turn out to be a chimera. But the accumulated evidence from today is that we reasonably may look back on War Day 27, March 22, as the turning point in this war. Could Ukraine reasonably win this war, "kick the invader out", as Zelensky called on his people to do yesterday? God, I don't know...Which is up from "No."
