Russia has lost between 15-20% of the combat power it originally had arrayed against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday, Report informs, citing ABC News.
"As Russian troops retreat from some Ukrainian cities, some of the Russian battalion tactical groups (or BTGs, with roughly 800-1,000 troops each) that have withdrawn back across the Belarusian and Russian borders have been essentially "eradicated" from the fighting in Ukraine, according to the senior defense official," the official said.
According to the official, some of the withdrawn Russian forces are now making their way to the Russian cities of Belgorod and Valuyki, to the northwest of Donbas. But there are "no indications" that fresh troops are waiting there to join them.
The official said that degraded Russian BTGs are "exploring the option of" consolidating, banding together remaining troops and supplies to form new units.
According to the official, Russia is also aiming to recruit upwards of 60,000 new troops.
After Russian BTGs rebuild, "the most likely course of action would be for them to move immediately south right into the Donbas," the official said.
The Pentagon estimates that more than 40 Russian BTGs are positioned in or near the Donbas region. The estimate was "more than 30" on Wednesday, meaning up to 10,000 more troops have arrived in recent days.