Russia’s armed forces appear to have suffered “catastrophic casualties” in the city of Wuhledar. But President Putin is backing his defense ministry.
Moscow – The offensive successes of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine have become rare in recent months. Only the conquest of the small town of Soledar by Russian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries represents one of the few territorial gains in the Ukraine war since the summer of 2022. Meanwhile, bitter fighting continues for the towns of Bakhmut and Wuhledar in the Donetsk region. Along the front line, there is extremely high material wear and countless victims.
Ukraine war: “Catastrophic losses” for Russia in Wuhledar – but Putin praises his armed forces
The US think tank “Institute for the Study of War” (ISW) speaks of “catastrophic losses” in the ranks of the Russian armed forces with regard to the fighting for Wuhledar. The small town (approx. 14,000 inhabitants before the war) could become a troop grave for Moscow. Russian hardliners are therefore already sharply criticizing the Russian military leadership for its actions in the Donetsk region. But Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is paying little attention to the losses and is backing the Defense Ministry.
The Kremlin chief said on Russian state TV earlier this week, “The marines are functioning as they should at the moment.” Putin went on to say that the Pacific and Northern Fleets were “fighting heroically.” According to ISW experts, the Russian president deliberately praised the fleets in order to distract from the heavy losses of armored vehicles suffered by the Pacific Fleet’s 155th Marines Brigade in the fighting for Wuhledar.
With his statements, the Russian President also supports Sergei Shoigu’s defense ministry. This had so far made no statements about the losses in the region and only emphasized that a successful offensive would be carried out on Wuhledar.
Over 5,000 soldiers lost: criticism of the Russian military leadership is getting louder
However, according to the Ukrainian armed forces in Wuhledar, the Russian losses are enormous. The district head of the Ukrainian defense forces, Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky, recently said that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers were killed, wounded or taken prisoner and could therefore no longer take part in the fighting. In addition, the Ukrainian official also reported heavy losses in the Ukrainian armament. The Kremlin’s armed forces would have lost 130 different pieces of military equipment at Wuhledar – including 36 tanks alone. The successes are said to be at least partly due to a new mine tactic. The information from the Ukrainian side cannot be independently checked at the moment.
But Russian military bloggers have repeatedly reported on significant Russian losses and have therefore criticized the Ministry of Defence. This would not learn from the experience gained in the Ukraine war and would always make the same mistakes in offensive actions.
Kremlin critic and former Russian separatist leader Igor Girkin also confirmed the losses on his Telegram channel. “All these losses turned out to be ‘one-sided’ – the Ukrainians fired on the attackers like in a shooting gallery,” Girkin said. The Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel “Grey Zone”, on the other hand, sees the attacks on Wuhledar as a desperate attempt by the Russian army to emulate the successes of the Wagner mercenaries in Soledar.
Signs in the direction of Wagner mercenaries – Putin wants to continue taking Wuhledar
The private army headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin had claimed the conquest of the small town north of Bakhmut and sold it as their own success. “Putin’s cook” reported the capture of the city several days before the Russian Defense Ministry. But the Wagner Group also suffered massive losses in the fighting. This was probably also due to the tactics of the mercenaries, in which poorly trained recruits acted as “cannon fodder” in the front rows of the attack. However, Putin publicly attributed the capture to the Russian Defense Ministry.
As analyzed by the ISW experts, the statements by the Russian President with regard to Wuhledar could also have announced further support for the troops stationed there. “Putin may have signaled his continued support for Russian forces there to offset news of significant defeats of Russian conventional units in critical sections of the front,” the ISW situation report said. (fd)
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