Britain: Russian units suffering losses, forced to leave Ukraine to resupply

The British Ministry of Defense said in an update on Wednesday that Russian forces were suffering losses, forcing them to leave Ukraine “to reorganize and resupply.”

“Russian units suffering heavy losses have been forced to return to Belarus and Russia to reorganize and resupply. Such activity is placing further pressure on Russia’s already strained logistics and demonstrates the difficulties Russia is having reorganizing its units in forward areas within Ukraine,” the British Defense Ministry said in an update released through Twitter.

The British Defense Ministry said that Russia would likely defer to missile strikes and mass artillery to make up for their reduced ground maneuver capability.

“Russia’s stated focus on an offensive in Donetsk and Luhansk is likely a tacit admission it is struggling to sustain more than one significant axis of advance,” the ministry added.

The development comes as the Pentagon said on Tuesday that it did not believe a claim made by Moscow that its troops would be reducing military activity near the cities of Chernihiv and Kyiv, saying that Russia was instead “repositioning” its troops.

“We ought not be fooling — and nobody should be fooling ourselves by the Kremlin’s now recent claim that it will suddenly reduce military attacks near Kyiv or any reports that it’s going to withdraw all of its forces,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said.

“We believe this is a repositioning, not a real withdrawal, and that we all should be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine. It does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over,” Kirby noted.

The Russian invasion, now in its second month, has remained unsuccessful at seizing Kyiv. The Pentagon told reporters last week that the first Ukrainian city that was taken by Russia was no longer controlled by its forces.