Battle of the mulled

Snatching defeat from victory

With the president of Ukraine visiting Washington, D.C., this week, what a coincidence that the Biden administration would declassify a report on Russian casualties. Since Vladimir Putin started Putin’s War going on two years ago, the fighting has cost Russia 315,000 casualties—nearly 90 percent of the personnel Russia had the day of the invasion.

Media reports say the Russians have lost 87 percent of its active duty ground troops—by number—and upwards of two-thirds of its pre-invasion tanks. The Americans’ now-declassified report say the Russians started 2022 with 360,000 soldiers in uniform. So losing 315,000 is a significant chunk of the Red Army.

The Kremlin has called up reserves and instituted a draft, so men and equipment keep flowing toward the battle. But if not for the additional draftees, reservists and occasional paroled prisoner, the Rooskies would be operating at 13 percent manpower.

The fact that Ukraine’s population is 30 percent the size of Russia’s means that the Russians—for all its casualties—still holds the upper hand in manpower.

The point is that Russia is paying an awful price for its attack on a democratic neighbor. Reuters says Moscow’s losses in people and armored vehicles “have set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years.” (Why not 17 years or 19 years wasn’t explained. But let’s not chase that rabbit.)

Something like 2,200 of its 3,500 tanks are smoldering. Something like 4,400 of its 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers are ruined.

Reuters: “The scale of losses has forced Russia to take extraordinary measures to sustain its ability to fight. Russia declared a partial mobilization of 300,000 personnel in late 2022, and has relaxed standards to allow recruitment of convicts and older civilians … .” Still, Vlad the Impaler pushes on. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited with leaders of Congress on Tuesday to try to convince them to keep sending aid to his country. With all the Russians moving (or being pushed) west toward Ukraine, it’s not like American aid is needed to quickly score a victory. But the American help is very much needed to keep Ukraine from being overrun.

And if American help is denied, it is going to be a long, cold, dark winter for Ukraine, or at least as long as there is a Ukraine.

It would seem that the White House would understand that, and bargain (in good faith) with the Republicans on Capitol Hill to trade Ukrainian aid for better policy at the United States-Mexico border. Which would help support two worthy causes.