Russia is losing a huge number of manpower and military equipment in Ukraine, but it can afford this style of warfare, writes the publication War on Rocks, citing analysts.
In other circumstances, it is logical that the aggressor state is heading for defeat at this rate of losses (400,000 soldiers a year), but this is not the case with Russia, which has much greater resources than Ukraine.
Such huge losses do not actually weaken Russia militarily, but rather give it the opportunity to prolong the war against Ukraine, which does not have such human and material resources.
Russia is recovering these losses much faster than initial estimates suggested. Vladimir Putin's army is actually larger - by 15 percent - than it was at the time of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine (February 2022).
The authors of the publication note that Russia has almost four times the population, and its mobilization capacity of men aged 20-39 is 18.9 million, while Ukraine has less than 5 million. Russia could lose three times as many troops as Ukraine and still suffer less in relative terms.
In terms of weapons, Russia also has an advantage over Ukraine. Russia relies heavily on Soviet-era stocks to provide its army with combat equipment.
Commenting on the Russian economy, the authors note that in the Russian state budget for 2025 about 40% of the spending will go to defense and national security - more than education, healthcare, and social and economic security combined. This will have a negative impact on all non-military spheres of life in Russia. Despite the difficulties - Russia will continue to be a military threat not only to Ukraine, but also to Europe and NATO.