Russian warships with a lot of military trucks on board were seen yesterday morning as they passed through a strait in Japan. They could be on their way to Ukraine. The Tsugaru Strait separates Japan’s two biggest islands, Honshu and Hokkaido. It goes from the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean, and it separates them. Russia has lost a lot of people, including up to one-fifth of its troops. This has led to rumors that Putin could send in more troops from somewhere else. There have also been a large number of tanks and planes that have been lost, according to recent estimates. A group called Oryx says Russia lost 1,292 vehicles in the first three weeks, including 214 tanks.
A picture released by Japan’s Ministry of Defense through the Kyodo news agency showed a Russian warship with military trucks on board. Late on Tuesday, the ministry reported two more sightings, and then two more on Wednesday, which is when they were. A spokesperson said: ‘We don’t know where they’re going, but the direction they’re going suggests that Ukraine might be possible.’ Russian ships aren’t used to going through the strait so close to Japanese land, the people said. NATO allies have already sent 20,000 anti-tank and other weapons to Ukraine, and more are coming. Russian troops have now died in Ukraine, and another 14,000 to 21,000 have been injured.
In fact, British intelligence says that Russia hasn’t made much progress on land, sea, or air in the last 24 hours, and that it’s still losing a lot of ground and air. It’s not good for Putin. His invasion of Ukraine, which was supposed to last just a few days, has now been going on for three weeks and has turned into a war zone. Attacks across the country have been put on hold because people say that soon Russia will not be able to keep the land it already owns, let alone get more.
America thinks Russia has sent somewhere between half and three-quarters of its land forces to Ukraine, and all of them are already in the fight. Spare units will be used for active missions outside of the country, while others will be used to protect the country if they are sent out. Kremlin has to look for men far from the front lines because of this problem. The Ministry of Defense in Britain says reinforcements are now coming from places like eastern Siberia and Armenia. There are also Syrian fighters and paid mercenaries, many of them from the mysterious Wagner Group, who have already agreed to help fight.
The UK thinks these reinforcements would be used to keep Ukraine’s territory that Russia already has, which would free up regular troops for new attacks. Most likely, they would target major cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa. Second, another goal would be to surround many Ukrainian forces in Donbass, spread out along the old front line with Russian-backed rebel groups. But it’s not clear whether the reinforcements will work. Syrian mercenaries may not be well-trained or used to the terrain and climate of eastern Europe, so they may not be able to reach the front in a short time. In the meantime, Ukraine says it has been able to fight back against Putin’s men and radically change the battlefield.
Russian casualty estimates from the front lines are almost impossible to get right. People in Ukraine say that 13,800 men have died, but the United States and Europe say that the figure is closer to 6,000 people. Only 500 people have been killed, and Moscow hasn’t updated that figure in weeks. This is a figure that Moscow has acknowledged. It’s possible that up to 55,000 Russian troops are out of action if three times as many are injured, captured, or left. This is based on historical trends. Between a fifth and a third of the 150,000-strong army Putin had when he started fighting.
