U.S. analysts believe as many as 4,000 Russian troops may have been killed in the 13 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency said Tuesday.
While noting analysts have “low confidence” in the assessment, DIA Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier told the House Intelligence Committee that, based on a mix of intelligence sources and open source information, his agency believes anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 Russian troops have been killed so far.
By contrast, 2,461 U.S. troops died during the entire 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Read Next: Pentagon Shuttering Hawaii Fuel Storage Facility that Leaked and Sickened Military Families
The high Russian casualty count underscores the setbacks Moscow has faced since Russian forces launched a massive invasion of Ukraine, reversals that U.S. intelligence officials testified Tuesday would lead to Russian President Vladimir Putin escalating the violence.
“I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now. He's likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties,” CIA Director William Burns said.
“He has no sustainable political endgame in the face of what is going to continue to be fierce resistance from Ukrainians,” Burns added. “Where that leads, I think, is for an ugly next few weeks in which he doubles down, as I said before, with scant regard for civilian casualties.”
The House Intelligence Committee…
