MADRID 11 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Secretary of the United States Department of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has stated that the participation of North Korean troops in support of Russia in the conflict in Ukraine represents “another clear sign of Putin’s desperation” in a war in which Russia “has paid an atrocious price.”
“Russia has suffered more than 700,000 casualties in Ukraine. That is more than Moscow has endured in all of its conflicts since World War II combined. Some casualties in Ukraine now exceed two-thirds of the total strength of the Russian army at the beginning of the war. war chosen by Putin. In November 2024 alone, Russia lost almost 1,500 soldiers a day,” he stated in a video published on the social network X.
Thus, the head of the Pentagon has alleged that with these figures Moscow “has been forced to resort to Russian prisons and hire soldiers.” “Moscow has even brought North Korean troops into a war to which they do not belong. That is another clear sign of Putin’s desperation,” he denounced.
“Meanwhile, the Russian ruble has continued to plummet. The Kremlin is increasingly isolated. And Russia’s global stature and strategic position have continued to decline. And so, Russia has paid an atrocious price for this indefensible war. However, Putin has not achieved a single one of his strategic objectives, not a single one,” he insisted.
WITHDRAWAL FROM SYRIA
The secretary has also maintained that Putin “was so bogged down” in Ukraine that when Bashar al Assad’s regime fell, he fled to Russia on December 8 in the face of the advances of jihadists and rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), ” “All he could do was watch.”
“Russian forces were forced to quickly withdraw both equipment and personnel from Syria, a region that had previously been key to the Kremlin’s global ambitions,” he added.
In this way, the “strategic failure” – as he has described it – in Syria, “underlines the deep crisis that Russia faces in its attempt to maintain its international influence.”
“The Russian withdrawal from Syria not only reflects the erosion of Moscow’s military power, but also the Kremlin’s growing isolation and lack of ability to project its power beyond its borders, even in theaters closest to its sphere of control. influence,” he concluded.