russia using 97% of its army in Ukraine – UK defense secretary
russia threw almost its entire army into the war with Ukraine, says UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
The head of the British defense commented on moscow's offensive strategy during the broadcast on BBC Radio 4, saying that russia could not gather a single force to "punch through" the defense of Ukraine. Instead, the department saw an effort to move forward.
Mr. Wallance said this cost the russian army a vast price: according to the estimates, 97% of the russian military, the entire russian army, is in Ukraine.
According to the head of the UK defense, the West strengthens security at home by helping Kyiv defeat russia in Ukraine.
"If 97% of the russian army is now committed to Ukraine, with an attrition rate very, very high, and potentially their combat effectiveness depleted by 40%, and nearly two-thirds of their tanks destroyed or broken, that has a direct impact on the security of Europe," Wallace emphasized.
The British defense minister believes that russia is advancing on the front at the level of the First World War attrition.
"I think what Russia is doing in trying to advance, it's doing in a sort of human way, almost First World War levels of attrition and with success rates of a matter of meters rather than kilometers," Wallace noted.
The head of the department added that the "biggest unknown" is russian leaders. In his words, they either have "a gap in reality" or "no regard for human life of [russia's] own."
According to Western intelligence, russia is accumulating aviation near the border with Ukraine. This suggests that moscow is preparing to use its planes and helicopters in the war to support the faltering ground offensive.
