You can't possibly believe that Russia has lost thousands of men in a 3 week old war against a "country" that used to belong to them. Just 6 days into the war, on March 2, the Russian Defense Ministry itself said that 498 Russian troops had been killed, and 1597 killed. Those are Moscow's own numbers. 16 more days later, 2000 dead total is entirely reasonable.
[Just 6 days into the war, on March 2, the Russian Defense Ministry itself said that 498 Russian troops had been killed, and 1597 killed. Those are Moscow’s own numbers. 16 more days later, 2000 dead total is entirely reasonable. ]
Not only that - they may have caught the Ukrainians by surprise. Zelensky kept saying, almost to the end, that Russia wouldn’t invade. He delayed the general mobilization order until the invasion started, which obviously limited the amount of manpower he could bring to bear. Now that every man from 18 to 60 is under arms where available, you gotta imagine they are inflicting more casualties on the Russians than at the beginning.