Over 30,000 Wagner Group fighters killed or injured in Ukraine, U.S. says

Authored by washingtonpost.com and submitted by PutinRiot

War in Ukraine: What you need to know

The latest: Fighting in eastern Ukraine continues as Russian forces make minor gains in their attempt to encircle the city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked Western allies for fighter jets as Russia mounts a spring offensive. Read the latest here.

The fight: Russia has been targeting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure with missile and drone strikes since October, often knocking out electricity, heating and water in the country. Despite heavy fighting, no side has made significant gains for months. Western allies agreed to a new wave of elaborate weapons, including Leopard tanks, hoping it may change the balance on the battlefield.

A year of war: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has set off a historic exodus of his own people, with data showing that at least 500,000, and perhaps nearly 1 million, have left Russia since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. Despite that and extensive sanctions, the Russian economy has remained more resilient than many expected. There are signs, however, that Putin’s luck may be starting to run out.

Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work.

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Yakima42 on February 18th, 2023 at 20:14 UTC »

How accurate are most of these numbers? I feel like I've been reading headlines that are some variation of "Russia getting a** kicked in Ukraine" for the past year or so. Yet they keep pushing on with one offensive after another. How much longer will this all last, in your opinion?

LtCmdrData on February 18th, 2023 at 15:19 UTC »

Russian annual losses in killed or injured are likely below 100,000 based on Pentagon estimates.

Russian annual conscription is 260,000 men (spring+fall). That's about half of the age class. Men who don't have education or can't avoid conscription otherwise get conscripted. There are ~5 million 20-30 year old Russian men total.

I suspect they can sustain at least 50,000 annual losses several years without political problems. If the intensity of war does not increase, that's doable.

That's insane, but war does not have to be sane. Russians seem to just go to die when forced to do so.

Due_Capital_3507 on February 18th, 2023 at 12:13 UTC »

How many people does the PMC have? That seems like an irreparable loss