The leaked US secret service documents show that the Russian special unit Speznaz suffered high losses in the Ukraine war. The Washington Post reports. Apparently, five Spetsnaz brigades were sent to Ukraine. Four of them have recorded many dead and wounded.
According to the report, clear figures are difficult to obtain. However, the 346th Brigade is mentioned as an example. According to intercepted information, only 125 of the 900 fighters sent to Ukraine are still “active”. Satellite images would also show that the 22nd Brigade, like two other Spetsnaz units, had lost 90 to 95 percent of their vehicles.
While the return of these Spetsnaz units to Russia could be traced, there is no trace of the 25th Spetsnaz regiment, according to US documents. This can only be explained by heavy losses.
Spetsnaz units were to seize Zelenskyy
The specially trained Spetsnaz forces are responsible for the particularly sensitive missions in Putin’s empire. In Ukraine, for example, they should have seized President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – if Putin’s plans had worked. As the situation on the battlefield grew hotter and Putin’s commanders no longer trusted their soldiers to bring victory, Putin ordered his best men to go to war. You should fight on the front line as well as do reconnaissance missions.
But the operation mainly caused high losses. At the beginning of the war, many Spetsnaz fighters lost their lives in battles around Kharkov, for example, without proper rear cover from the regular army. Also, the capture of Mariupol and the fighting around Wuhledar would have caused many dead and wounded Spetsnaz fighters.
Russia may need a decade to rebuild troops
And this will have a lasting effect. It will be a mammoth task for Moscow to rebuild the unit, according to US intelligence experts, according to the Washington Post. Spetsnaz fighters receive four years of elite training. Replacing them isn’t going to happen overnight. US intelligence officials write that it could take up to a decade for Russia to reestablish these units.
And it’s not just about Russia’s operational capability in Ukraine. The Spetsnaz are sent on many missions, doing Putin’s dirty work around the world. The troops’ efficiency is now likely to suffer, according to US experts, also citing insiders close to Spetsnaz.
