Retired US general says Russia losing badly in Ukraine: ‘Like the Vermont National Guard with nuclear weapons’

The retired general said the Russian military is ‘not performing very well at all’

A retired US General claims that Russia is losing its war in Ukraine, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin will need to "decapitate" the Ukrainian government and "capture Kyiv" to succeed in its campaign.

Retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg made the comments during a Fox News interview on Wednesday. Mr Kellogg was formerly the national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence.

During his appearance on "Fox & Friends," Mr Kellogg compared the Russian military to the "Vermont National Guard with nuclear weapons."

"Every day that goes by, and we're now getting a day 15, they're losing this war. They're... losing in the information space where the entire world to see what's going on," he said. "They're losing in the military space. They're being beaten by Ukrainians and the whole world is going ‘what? We thought these guys were really 10 feet tall.' They're not. They're about five point five."

He said the Russians are "not performing very well at all. Everybody is saying that. Everybody sees it."

While Mr Kellogg's assessment may seem cheery, it's unclear if his views accurately portray the situation in Ukraine.

Reports from Ukrainian officials claim they have killed more than 12,000 Russian soldiers, shot down or destroyed 48 Russian airplanes, 80 helicopters, and captured or destroyed 303 tanks. They also claim to have eliminated two Russian naval ships and blown up dozens of fuel tankers and mobile missile launchers.

Russia claims only 498 soldiers have been killed, and would have an incentive to underreport casualties, just as Ukraine has an incentive to exaggerate its military successes.

A senior US defense official cited in a Department of Defense background briefing, warned the press it should be "extremely sceptical over any information that the Russian Ministry of Defense puts out there."

A US intelligence source speaking with CNN claims that 8 to 10 per cent of Russia's military assets have been destroyed or rendered inoperable during the invasion. Those numbers have not been confirmed by Russian officials.

Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Associated Press the agency estimates with "low confidence" that between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian troops have been killed.

What is known is that Russian forces are bombarding several Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Mariupol, and the capital Kyiv. Shelling at the capital has killed several civilians attempting to evacuate from the city. Russia is also reportedly planning an assault on Odessa, Ukraine's only remaining large port on the Black Sea.

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