Russian General's Leak Confirms 50% Loss of Elite Forces: U.K.

Unsanctioned comments from a senior Russian commander suggest that around 50% of Moscow's paratroopers have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, according to the UK government. General Colonel Mikhail Teplinsky, head of Russia's airborne forces, stated that 8,500 paratroopers had been wounded since February 2022. The figures endorse the assessment that at least half of the 30,000 paratroopers deployed to Ukraine have been affected. Russia's VDV troops were heavily involved in the early stages of the war, but experts believe they were deployed as regular infantry. Both Russia and Ukraine do not provide official casualty counts, and experts suggest that both sides likely exaggerate the opposing side's losses.