It will take years for Russia to rebuild elements of its ‘severely weakened’ armed forces, British officials have said.
In recent days Ukraine has launched a major counter-offensive that has driven Russian troops out of its territory in the east.
The move completely took Vladimir Putin’s army by surprise, with Ukraine’s troops retaking an area twice the size of Greater London.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they had retaken more than 2,317 sq miles from Russian control since the beginning of September.
On Tuesday morning, British officials said some of Russia’s forces had been so “severely weakened” they will take years to rebuild.
They said the Russian forces that had withdrawn from Kharkiv Oblast over the last week were from the 1st Guards Tank Army [1 GTA], which are subordinate to the Western Military District [WEMD].
“1 GTA suffered heavy casualties in the initial phase of the invasion and had not been fully reconstituted prior to the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv,” the Ministry of Defence said.
“1 GTA had been one of the most prestigious of Russia’s armies, allocated for the defence of Moscow, and intended to lead counter-attacks in the case of a war with NATO.
“With 1 GTA and other WEMD formations severely degraded, Russia’s conventional force designed to counter NATO is severely weakened. It will likely take years for Russia to rebuild this capability.”
Russia has admitted losing key cities in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. However, Moscow describes its troop withdrawal in recent days as a “regrouping” with the aim of focusing on the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east.
On Monday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ukrainian forces had made “significant progress” in their counter-offensive, but that it was too early to predict the outcome.
“The Russians maintain very significant forces in Ukraine as well as equipment and arms and munitions. They continue to use it indiscriminately against not just the Ukrainian armed forces but civilians and civilian infrastructure as we’ve seen,” Blinken said.
Putin ordered the full-scale invasion on 24 February and still holds about a fifth of the country.