Washington: The United States estimates that around 15,000 people have been killed and 45,000 injured in Ukraine so far, according to CIA director William Burns. He also said there had been significant casualties for Ukraine as well.
A fifth of Ukraine is now under the control of Russian forces, which have been moving through the eastern Donbass region for nearly five months since President Vladimir Putin authorized an invasion of Russia's neighbor.
Speaking Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Burns claimed those progress came at a high price.
"According to the most recent estimates by the US intelligence community, there could be 15,000 fatalities and three times as many wounded among the Russian military. Hence, a greater set of losses," Burns said.
Ukrainians have also suffered, although perhaps a little less. However, there were significant casualties.
Even in times of peace, Russia considers military deaths a state secret and does not frequently update its official casualty figures. On 25 March, it was reported that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed.
In June, the Ukrainian government claimed that the daily death toll among its soldiers ranged from 100 to 200.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has clearly acknowledged to date that Moscow has expanded its war objectives, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying on Wednesday that Moscow's military "actions" in Ukraine now extend beyond the Donbass. went.
Burns argued that the concentration of Russian military forces in the Donbass, at least for some time, suggested that they had learned hard lessons from early campaign failures, when Moscow stalled in its attack on Kyiv.
Using its advantages and long-range firepower to effectively destroy Ukrainian targets and remaining manpower weaknesses, the Russian military has retreated to a more casual style of warfare, according to Burns.
According to Burns, Russia's desire to buy drones from Iran for its conflict in Ukraine shows how vulnerable its military is.
It is true that the Russians are trying to buy armed drones by contacting the Iranians, according to Burns.
According to Burns, because they are energy rivals and longtime rivals, they need each other but don't really trust each other. It is important to note that this is in some ways a reflection of the challenges facing them today in light of the shortcomings of Russia's defense industry and their significant early losses in the war against Ukraine.
Earlier this week Putin visited Tehran. According to Burns, after President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East, Russia and Iran are exploring possible alliances and trying to help each other evade US sanctions.
Despite Burns' statement that the projected drone purchases are "troubling," there are restrictions on how much the two nations will be willing to cooperate.
The deadly choice for war refugees is to suffer and die in Ukraine or live in Russia
