Politico: Ukrainian army, with Western support, is now conducting military operations with "some success"

The United States has declassified its intelligence on Russian losses near Avdiivka since October, when Moscow launched an active offensive in the area.

According to National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, more than 13,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded and more than 220 military vehicles destroyed on the Avdiivka-Novopavlivka axis in eastern Ukraine since October.

Watson's report suggests that the casualty figures were declassified to influence the allocation of financial aid to Ukraine.

"It is more important than ever that we continue to support Ukraine so that it can continue to hold the front lines and take back its territory," Watson said.

U.S. intelligence data indicates that the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with Western support, are now conducting military operations that are bringing "some success," the newspaper writes.

Russian troops in the battles for Avdiivka over the past two months have lost about 13,000 personnel killed and wounded. They managed to capture 11.1 square kilometers of territory. Thus, the losses amounted to more than 1,000 people per square kilometer. This is evidenced by US intelligence and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

According to U.S. intelligence, Russia lost more soldiers during the offensive on Avdiivka than during the first two months of the invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, Russian troops have advanced to a distance of slightly more than 1.5-2 km to the north and south of the town, said George Barros, chief analyst at ISW.

Background. Earlier, The New York Times cited data on total losses provided by US intelligence. According to the newspaper, Russia started the war with 360,000 troops and 3,500 tanks, but eventually lost 315,000 of them and 2,200 tanks. This forced Russia to mobilize, conscript prisoners, and decommission 50-year-old T-62 tanks.