The recent annual celebrations of Russia’s Airborne Forces (VDV) Day on August 2, 2023, took an unexpected turn when the scope of casualties suffered by the elite force in Ukraine was apparently disclosed without official authorization.
In a recorded address for VDV Day, General Colonel Mikhail Teplinsky, the Commander-in-Chief of the VDV, revealed that a staggering 8,500 paratroopers had been wounded but had either returned to duty or refused to leave the front lines at all.
The video containing this disclosure was swiftly removed from the Russian Ministry of Defense’s official channels. Notably, General Colonel Teplinsky did not provide any information regarding the number of troops who had been killed or too severely wounded to return to duty.
However, based on the figures mentioned by Teplinksy, it can be inferred that at least 50% of the 30,000 paratroopers who were deployed to Ukraine in 2022 have either been killed or wounded.
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The revelation highlights the significant toll the conflict in Ukraine has taken on the Russian Airborne Forces. As the situation continues to unfold, British intelligence and other global observers will closely monitor the developments in the ongoing conflict and its impact on both military forces and civilians.
