Ret. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling on Monday expressed shock at new estimates published by the Kyiv Independent about the losses the Russian military has suffered so far in its invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Kyiv Independent, Russia has lost more than 10,000 troops, nearly 50 planes, two boats, and hundreds of tanks and artillery pieces over the past two weeks.
"If these published accounts by the Kyiv Independent are even close, they are disastrous," Hertling commented on Twitter. "Having been the US 7th Army Commander, if I were the Russian Combined Arms Army Commander I’d be very worried right now. (Especially since one of the 'boats' is a warship.)"
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What makes things particularly ominous for Russian forces, writes Hertling, is that they haven't even begun conducting the kinds of urban warfare operations they would need to run in major cities to truly take control of the country.
"The Russians haven’t even entered into 'close combat' with Ukrainian forces in most cities," argued Hertling. "The RU are going to take a shellacking there."
Even though Ukraine's military is significantly outgunned by its Russian counterparts, it has so far prevented Russia from establishing air superiority in the country, while also stopping Russia from successfully capturing most major cities.