Weapons production etc.

Military expert sees Russia at an advantage

Russian soldiers in Zaporizhia (archive image)

(Bild: APA/AFP/Andrey BORODULIN)

Military expert Markus Reisner believes that Russian troops currently have an advantage in the war in Ukraine. He attributes this to higher weapons production and more armed forces, among other things. "Ukraine is desperately trying to generate new resources in order to continue this war," Reisner said on Wednesday.

The Russian army has adapted massively over the past two years and ramped up its military-industrial complex. An estimated 3.5 to five million artillery shells are produced in Russia every year, said Reisner from the Austrian Armed Forces. Ukraine, on the other hand, has hardly any capacity and the European Union has not kept its promise to deliver one million shells by the end of the year. In addition, the opponent in the war had copied many of the Ukrainian side's innovations.

Colonel Markus Reisner

(Bild: P. Huber)

"Resignation and despair" among soldiers
The military expert estimates that 400,000 Ukrainian forces are currently deployed on the front line. Almost 500,000 are deployed on the Russian side. According to Reisner, around 500,000 soldiers have lost their lives or been injured in the past two years (200,000 from Ukraine, 300,000 from Russia). He was referring to the US military, which estimates that around 167,000 soldiers have been killed. That is slightly more than the number of inhabitants of Salzburg.

Reisner commented on the mood of the Ukrainian troops: "At the moment, resignation and despair, if you look at Avdiivka (which was taken by Russian troops last week, editor's note)." At the same time, there seems to be no alternative to continuing to fight, as otherwise there will be destruction or a reduction to a rump state without a sea link.

The invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. Hundreds of thousands of people have died since then. The war also triggered the third largest refugee movement in Europe of all time.