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THE UKRAINE WAR
BRIEF WP UPDATE WP: CIA chief says 15,000 Russians killed in war, dismisses Putin health rumors 
Original article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/21/ukraine-russia-war-putin-fighters/ Peter Burgess COMMENTARY Peter Burgess | ||
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CIA chief says 15,000 Russians killed in war, dismisses Putin health rumors
Written by Reis Thebault, Andrew Jeong and Hari Raj July 21, 2022 at 5:04 a.m. EDT Speculation about Russian President Vladimir Putin's health has picked up after the Feb. 24 invasion. (Alexey Maishev/Kremlin/Pool/Sputnik/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine have been minimal and have come at a “very high” cost, senior U.S. officials said Wednesday, illustrating the deadly grind of the conflict while dismissing concerns about President Vladimir Putin’s health. CIA Director William J. Burns poured cold water over persistent speculation that the Russian leader is ill during a security forum in Aspen, Colo. “There are lots of rumors about President Putin’s health, and as far as we can tell, he’s entirely too healthy,” he quipped, adding that it was “not a formal intelligence judgment.” In the lead-up to the invasion and in the months that have followed, Putin has been portrayed as more eccentric and irrational. Widespread speculation that he is sick, possibly with cancer, has continued to circulate as the war drags on. Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to limp off his plane on arrival in Tehran for a meeting with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 19. (Video: Associated Press) Burns said about 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war in Ukraine. Up to 45,000 more have been wounded, he said, citing the latest U.S. intelligence on Russian losses. “Ukrainians have suffered, as well — probably a little less than that, but … significant casualties,” Burns said. Gen. Mark A. Milley, the top U.S. military officer, told reporters Wednesday that Russian forces have taken just six to 10 miles of new territory in the past 90 days after focusing their efforts on seizing eastern Ukraine. “The bottom line is, the cost is very high, the gains are very low, there is a grinding war of attrition,” he said. U.S.-supplied HIMARS changing the calculus on Ukraine’s front lines “Advances are measured in literally hundreds of meters” on some days, Milley said. The United States is also considering sending more advanced weapons to Ukraine, amid Kyiv’s fears that Russian forces could get further entrenched if the war drags on into winter, making counterattacks more difficult. “After winter, when the Russians will have more time to dig in, it will certainly be more difficult,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Tuesday. Those weapons could include warplanes, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the U.S. Air Force chief of staff, said Wednesday. Brown didn’t say what type of aircraft but said the options include American-made fighter jets and those manufactured in Europe. War in Ukraine: What you need to know The latest: President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the biggest shake-up in the Ukrainian government since the start of the war: The head of Ukraine’s security services, Ivan Bakanov, and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova were suspended. Kyiv also said that hundreds of criminal investigations for suspected “treason and collaboration activities” were underway. The fight: Russia’s recent operational pause, which analysts identified in recent weeks as an effort to regroup troops before doubling down on Ukraine’s south and east, appears to be ending. Russia appears set to resume ground offensives, with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu telling troops on Saturday to intensify attacks “in all operational sectors” of Ukraine. The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts. By Reis Thebault Reis Thebault is a reporter covering national and breaking news. He has worked on the local desks of the Boston Globe and the Columbus Dispatch. He joined The Washington Post in June 2018. Twitter By Andrew Jeong Andrew Jeong is a reporter for The Washington Post in its Seoul hub. Twitter By Hari Raj Hari Raj is a multiplatform editor at The Washington Post’s hub in Seoul. Before joining The Post in November 2021, he worked as an editor and reporter in Hong Kong; Melbourne, Australia, Beijing; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, covering culture, politics and sports. Photos: Post photographers have been on the ground from the very beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work. How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating. Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video. UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT HAND CURATED How Kaliningrad, Russian land ringed by NATO, is tangled in Ukraine war News• June 21, 2022 Maps of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine News• July 7, 2022 Who is Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich? News• April 1, 2022
| The text being discussed is available at | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/21/ukraine-russia-war-putin-fighters/ and |
