In a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the real number of casualties during the invasion of Ukraine has been leaked and published on Russia’s state media.
Yaroslav Trofimov, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent of The Wall Street Journal, broke the story of a stunning leak coming from Russia that portends doom for Putin.
So far, it’s not yet clear if the leak was accidental or an act of sabotage against Putin.
The official number of Russian deaths from the Ukraine invasion that Putin has released is 498.
US estimates around 9,000 have been killed and today, in a Russian state media outlet, the real number was leaked and it looks like our Intel community is close to dead on.
Remember, around 15,000 Soviet troops died and 35,000 were wounded in 10 years in Afghanistan and around 6,000 US troops died in 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trofimov said:
“Komsomolskaya Pravda, the pro-Kremlin tabloid, says that according to Russian ministry of defense numbers, 9,861 Russian soldiers died in Ukraine and 16,153 were injured.
“The last official Russian KIA figure, on March 2, was 498. Fascinating that someone posted the leaked number.”
“And that graph has now been deleted!
“Either KP has been hacked or someone there got the leaked numbers and posted them.”
Komsomolskaya Pravda, the pro-Kremlin tabloid, says that according to Russian ministry of defense numbers, 9,861 Russian soldiers died in Ukraine and 16,153 were injured. The last official Russian KIA figure, on March 2, was 498. Fascinating that someone posted the leaked number. pic.twitter.com/LHrBWIQ49z
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) March 21, 2022
And that graph has now been deleted! https://t.co/4lBjWFg4qx
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) March 21, 2022
Either https://t.co/WFo6yAJFYD has been hacked or someone there got the leaked numbers and posted them. https://t.co/3GU6CKtdS0
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) March 21, 2022
From The Hill:
Speaking to NBC News, an unnamed NATO intelligence official said, “If we’re not in a stalemate, we are rapidly approaching one.”
“The reality is that neither side has a superiority over the other,” they added.
According to the official, Belarus, a close Moscow ally, may soon launch an attack on Ukraine or allow Russia to position nuclear weapons on its soil. Belarus allowed Russian soldiers to amass along its border with Ukraine prior to the invasion on Feb. 24.
“The Belarusian government is preparing the environment to justify a Belarusian offensive against Ukraine and the imminent deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus,” they said.
While Ukraine has been able to prevent Russian soldiers from taking major cities including the capital Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also unwilling to admit defeat, the NATO official told NBC.
“So what happens when you have these two forces then grinding on each other in this way? The loss of life and the damage is going to be quite severe,” said the official. “Neither side here can win. Neither side will capitulate.”
