Ukraine's Defence Intelligence corrects Putin on number of Russian troops in Ukraine

Olena Roshchina — Friday, 15 December 2023, 16:01

ANDRII YUSOV. PHOTO: UKRAINSKA PRAVDA

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) says Russian President Vladimir Putin overstated the number of Russian troops on the battlefield during his press conference yesterday: 450,000 soldiers are fighting against Ukraine, not the 617,000 that he claimed.

Source: Andrii Yusov, representative of DIU, during the national joint 24/7 newscast on 15 December

Quote: "The enemy is presenting misleading data in order to exert information pressure on our country, perhaps to further intimidate people abroad and provide additional motivation for its already brainwashed population.

This wasn’t the only lie that came out of the Russian dictator's mouth yesterday [14 December - ed.]. Actually, he was lying every time he opened his mouth. However, the Russian dictator did confess to a handful of war crimes yesterday and actually admitted that he intends for them to continue.

Regarding the size of the Russian occupying group, there are currently over 450,000 [Russian soldiers fighting against Ukraine - ed.]. That isn't the figure that the person resembling Putin announced yesterday. Unless he counted all the dead invaders the Ruscists haven’t picked up from the battlefield. That might give you a different figure. All in all, this is propaganda."

Details: Yusov also echoed the opinion of Kyrylo Budanov, Head of DIU, that as of now, the Kremlin does not intend to be fighting the war in 2025. However, he added that the Russians might have adjusted their plans by the end of 2024.

Yusov believes prolonging the war for longer would be undesirable for Russia, as the impact of sanctions will be more keenly felt next year.

Background: At his final press conference on 14 December, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that 617,000 Russian troops have been deployed to the war zone in Ukraine, including 244,000 mobilised soldiers. Putin claimed that a total of 300,000 mobilised soldiers and 486,000 "military volunteers" have been recruited.

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