Russia is losing troops so fast they could ‘collapse’ by year’s end, says ex-general

Ben Hodges, a retired US Army officer who served as a commanding general in the US Army in Europe, predicted that Russian forces could ‘collapse’ before the end of the year, succumbing to battle usury in Ukraine.

“Russia is being attacked at such a rate that it could collapse before the end of this year, assuming the West delivers what we have promised in time. War is a test of will and a test of logistics “, Hodges tweeted in reference to an assessment by military expert Marcus M. Keupp, who heads the Department of Defense Economics at the ETH Military Academy.

Keupp said in a recent interview with German news outlet t-Online that Ukrainian forces would soon have leverage in the war as the West continues to provide them with military aid and Russia loses more troops.

Russian forces have suffered a number of setbacks in Ukraine, including shortages of fighters and equipment, despite some recent advances. Meanwhile, Western countries, including the United States, continued to provide Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid.

Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces has spread to major Ukrainian cities since the start of the war, including kyiv, Odessa and Kherson, with no end to the war in sight.

More recently, Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region was the scene of an intense months-long battle between Russian and paramilitary forces against Ukrainian troops.

During his interview with the German media, Keupp agreed that the Battle of Bakhmut illustrates the meaning of “attrition war” in reality.

“The current situation in Bakhmut particularly symbolizes this fact. A look at the figures clearly shows this: to take the city, the Russian leadership sends battalions in senseless frontal attacks, the units are quickly shot down. If they lose a battalion every day they have to find replacements. But from where? So other parts of the front are clearing up,” he said.

The military expert continued: “Just to classify the geographical area we are talking about: the section of the front in Bakhmut is 20 kilometers long, but the whole front from Kherson to Kharkiv is more than 1000 km long. The fierce onslaught of Russian units no longer has anything to do with military rationality.”

As Ukrainian forces continue to fight, Kyiv recently reiterated its commitment to retaking Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Ukrainian media recently reported that Russian forces in the annexed Crimean peninsula could prepare for a possible so- called forced evacuation.

In another tweet on Friday, hodges wrote“CRIMEA UNDER UKRAINE’S CONTROL IS THE KEY TO ALL TRUE PEACE AND PROSPERITY.”

Newsweek contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry by email for comment.