The Hill
UK says Russia is calling in reinforcements
March 16, 2022
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense on Tuesday announced that Russia’s military has sought to call in reinforcements as the country has faced “continued personnel losses” during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia is increasingly seeking to generate additional troops to bolster and replace its personnel losses,” the ministry stated in a public intelligence assessment, according to CNN.
The ministry also suggested that the call for more troops could be due to the strong resistance that Ukraine has managed to present since the invasion first began, the news outlet noted.
“It is likely Russia is struggling to conduct offensive operations in the face of sustained Ukrainian resistance,” the ministry reportedly added in its assessment.
Russia has also been reassigning troops from “its Eastern Military District, Pacific Fleet and Armenia” as well as calling on “private military companies, Syrians, and other mercenaries” to fight in Ukraine, CNN reported.
“Russia will likely attempt to use these forces to hold captured territory and free up its combat power to renew stalled offensive operations,” the British assessment reportedly said.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Tuesday announced that more than 13,500 Russian personnel have been lost since the start of the invasion. The ministry also said that Russia has reportedly lost 1,279 armored combat vehicles and 404 tanks.
It also stated that both sides still maintain about 90 percent of their combat power.