According to American analysts, Russian troops have seized a small piece of land, losing thousands of soldiers and a large amount of military equipment.
For a month of active hostilities, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation managed to increase the number of occupied territories of Ukraine by less than 0.04%. This is reported by Insider on March 14, citing data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to experts, from January 31 to February 28 this year, the RF Armed Forces were able to occupy only 0.039% more Ukrainian land, which is equal to 233.94 square kilometers. At the same time, the War Mapper tracking group reports that in February, the Russians managed to capture only 0.01% of Ukrainian territories.
Analysts point out that in both versions the figures are “quite small”, which indicates the limitations of Russia’s territorial gains. At the same time, the Russian army suffered huge losses of military equipment and personnel over the past month.
The fact that the Russian Armed Forces launched an offensive in Ukraine after several months of stagnation was announced by NATO on February 14. A few days later, the British Ministry of Defense noted that the Russian invaders were advancing “not by kilometers, but by meters”, if they were advancing at all.
“Russia has said it is launching a new offensive. Well, if that’s the case, then that’s a shame,” a senior US diplomat said on the matter.
The authors of the publication noted that the Russians also failed to achieve significant success at the front in March. The slow advance of the RF Armed Forces was recorded in Bakhmut, but the city has not yet been taken by Russian forces.
According to the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, at the end of February, the losses of the Russian Armed Forces in Bakhmut reached 1,200 soldiers per day. The International Institute for Strategic Studies also noted that Russia lost half of its main tanks in the war with Ukraine.
According to British intelligence on March 14, over the past week, the Russian army has not been able to carry out significant offensive operations in Ukraine. One of the key problems of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation now is the lack of ammunition for artillery.
The March 9 ISW report also states that the Russian PMC Wagner has taken a “tactical pause” in the prolonged, months-long assault on Bakhmut. According to analysts, they are trying to replace the “Wagnerites” with regular Russian troops.
