UKRAINE WAR: ESCALATION RISKSWestern Officials: Russia's Failures in Ukraine May Make Putin More Dangerous
New intelligence estimates suggest that up to 20 percent of Russian troops sent into Ukraine have been killed, wounded or captured as Ukraine fights Moscow to a near standstill. Senior Western officials are increasingly alarmed that Russia’s losses in Ukraine are making President Vladimir Putin more dangerous, some going as far as to compare him to a caged animal ready to lash out.
Senior Western officials are increasingly alarmed that Russia’s losses in Ukraine are making President Vladimir Putin more dangerous, some going as far as to compare him to a caged animal ready to lash out.
The warnings, from Washington and Brussels, come as new intelligence estimates suggest that up to 20 percent of Russian troops sent into Ukraine have been killed, wounded or captured as Ukraine fights Moscow to a near standstill.
“I don’t know if you can go as far [as to say] stalemate, but it’s clear that after one month, Russia has achieved almost none of their strategic objectives,” said a senior NATO official, who spoke to reporters Wednesday on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss intelligence.
“They are stalled in Kyiv. They are stalled in Kharkiv. They are stalled in Chernihiv,” the official said.
And in a break with some U.S. defense officials, who have declined to talk about Russian casualties in Ukraine because of “low confidence” in the estimates, NATO officials say the price on the battlefield has been high.
NATO on Wednesday estimated that between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in battle, basing the assessment on intelligence from Ukraine and its own observations, including information accidentally released by Moscow.
When wounded, captured and missing soldiers are factored in, the number of Russian troops taken off the battlefield is between 30,000 and 40,000, the alliance believes.
But Western officials warn that rather than pull back, Putin has decided to respond to failure with even greater brutality and tactics reminiscent of a previous era.
“They are achieving more results in the south, but the price of it is absolutely horrendous,” the senior NATO official said, accusing Moscow of trying to carpet-bomb the Ukrainian city of Mariupol into submission.
“What they do is World War II, 70-year-old techniques,” the official said. “To reach this extreme, you need to be cornered and you need to be pushed to break all moral human rules to go to such brutality.”
The official further warned that Russia’s failure to quickly subjugate Ukraine is feeding into Putin’s already deep hatred of Western values, increasing the chances he may choose to expand the conflict beyond Ukraine.
“The alliance is absolutely at risk,” the official said.
There is growing concern that Putin may turn to weapons of mass destruction, whether they be nuclear, chemical or biological.
