The U.S. estimates that between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian troops have been killed so far in the country’s war in Ukraine, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier testified at Congress’ annual worldwide threats hearing Tuesday.
According to Axios, the estimated number of Russian casualties is much higher than Russia expected, U.S. intelligence officials say. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet achieved his initial goal of taking over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, within two days and may turn to more aggressive tactics soon.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines testified that Russia ''underestimated the strength of Ukraine's resistance and the degree of internal military challenges,'' including morale and logistics issues and ''an ill-constructed plan.''
The U.S. intelligence community also assesses that Putin did not expect the global response to the invasion of Ukraine to be as rapid and united as it was, including from the many private companies that have stopped operating in Russia in the last two weeks.
Haines added that it is still unclear whether Russia will continue to pursue a ''maximalist plan to capture all or most of Ukraine,'' which would inevitably require more Russian resources.
A senior defense official said that around 5% of Russia’s weapons and vehicles have either been destroyed or ''rendered inoperable'' since the war began.
CIA Director Bill Burns testified that Putin is ''likely to double down and grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties,'' as Putin is ''angry and frustrated.'' He added, however, that Putin ''has no sustainable political endgame in the face of what is going to continue to be fierce resistance from Ukrainians.''
In addition, the CIA does not believe that Putin can likely install a stable puppet regime in Kyiv.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.