British intelligence defines main characteristic of Russian army after three years of war
Illustrative photo: Moscow overwhelms Ukraine with the Russian troops (Getty Images)
After three years of the conflict, Russia's land forces have been radically altered. Russia is now reliant on mass over quality to prosecute operations against Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.
Pre-invasion attempts to build a modern, professional force capable of carrying out complex operations have been reversed by substantial losses.
"Russia's personnel casualties of over 860,000 killed and wounded have undermined Russia's force quality. Most personnel currently serving in the Russian military have received minimal training, and Russian commanders use basic tactics to make advances, despite the associated high casualty rates," as mentioned in the post.
According to British intelligence, Russia has lost at least 3,750 main battle tanks and 8,400 armored vehicles. Large stockpiles of tanks and armored vehicles, a legacy of the Soviet Union, have been the only means for Russia to be able to replenish these major losses.
"Despite the costs imposed on its land forces, the Russian forces have been able to impose constant pressure on Ukrainian defenses. Russian territorial advances in Ukraine accelerated through 2024, although have slowed in early 2025. Continued attacks have been underpinned by the Russian leadership's tolerance for casualties, and Russia's land forces' quantitative overmatch relative to the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the UK Ministry of Defense emphasizes.
January 2025 became the second most costly month of the war for Russia, with a total of 48,240 casualties (killed and wounded). January 2025 also saw the second-highest daily losses for Russia in the war against Ukraine, with 1,556 people lost on average.
British intelligence predicts that Moscow will continue to lose over a thousand people per day in February.
