Putin's top troops are being 'decimated' as Russia relies too much on so-called 'elite' forces to wage war in Ukraine

Fri, 03/03/2023 - 18:02

russian soldiers — Russian servicemen take part in military exercises at the Uspenovskyi training ground outside the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, on September 4, 2022.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Several so-called "elite" Russian units have suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Military experts told Insider that these losses are a huge blow to Moscow's combat capabilities.
It also highlights an overdependence on these units to perform difficult tasks and missions.

The Russian military has lost many of its best-trained and most-skilled soldiers in Ukraine, where casualties continue to mount after more than a year of fighting, and it is having a crippling effect on the combat power of Moscow's forces.