LONDON — More than 75,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the Kremlin launched its brutal war against Ukraine on February 24, according to US intelligence agencies. Speaking to CNN, Michigan Rep. Elisa Slotkin said the estimate was revealed during a classified briefing with Biden administration officials. “We were informed that more than 75,000 Russians were either killed or wounded [in Ukraine], which is huge. … Over 80% of their ground forces are bogged down and they are tired,” he said. This roughly correlates with the number of casualties estimated by CIA Director William Burns on July 20. “I think the latest estimates from the US intelligence community would be, you know, something close to 15,000 dead and maybe three times as many wounded. a pretty significant set of casualties,” Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum. He went on to say that Ukrainian soldiers had “also suffered” but “probably a little less than” enemy forces. More recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s senior adviser said military casualties were between 100 and 200 per day. Before the Russian invasion, President Biden said Russia had amassed about 150,000 troops, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed 200,000 were stationed on Ukraine’s border. No number has been disclosed by the Russian Defense Ministry. In a briefing on Monday, the UK Ministry of Defense said the number of Russian soldiers who died in the first three months of the invasion of Ukraine was comparable to the Soviet Union’s losses during its decade-long conflict in Afghanistan. “A combination of poor low-level tactics, limited air cover, a lack of flexibility and a command approach ready to reinforce failure and repeat mistakes has led to this high casualty rate, which continues to rise in the Donbass offensive.” the department said. Keeping relatively quiet about the number of casualties suffered by its military, Russia announced on March 25 that it had counted 1,351 deaths. No public statements have been made since then.
