Ukraine Russia War: West Only Believes What it Wants /Lt Col Daniel Davis

Daniel Davis Deep Dive Merch: Etsy store

I read this horrific statistic and you and I have talked about the fog of war — how many people are actually dying and being killed in the Russian–Ukraine conflict. Politico article, Russia Bleeds Troops for Microscopic Frontline Gains. Initial sentence: Russia lost 281,550 soldiers in Ukraine in the first eight months of this year.

I’ll just tell you I don’t believe that for a second. Even if it’s half of that, we lost what, 54,000 Americans fighting the Vietnam War for more than a decade — 15-plus years. I mean, if this number is even half of that, the amount of life lost is just amazing.

Yeah, I don’t think it is even half that. And you’ve seen the Institute for the Study of War, which is big-time pro-Ukraine, reveal over the last couple of months especially that Russia has significantly changed its tactics — focusing on firepower to destroy the Ukrainian armed forces and minimizing the exposure of their troops — and they are succeeding at that.

I have recently talked to two separate people in the U.S. military hierarchy with access to classified information. They didn’t reveal exact details, but they said that number is wildly out of proportion — that’s what people in the West want others to believe so they keep supporting Ukraine and think they’re succeeding. But it is not true. Russia is not suffering anywhere near those kinds of casualties. You see that on the front because they continue to move forward, as opposed to the Ukrainian side, which is suffering those casualties.

That’s why it’s so hard for them to bring in reserves and even shore up the line — they’re making significant losses in Kupiansk and other areas of the Donetsk front that have really started to pick up speed. Some people want those numbers to sound like good news for Ukraine, but it’s more bad news as far as I can see — and even more reason why we need to get this war wrapped up.

Well, your comments are reflective of exactly why I brought this up, because I read the statistic this morning with a huge measure of skepticism. Where do they pull these figures from? I don’t know. But the volume of casualties just seemed unimaginable. Any chance that peace might break out, given that we’ve got some steps in the right direction between Israel and Hamas — might it catch on between Russia and Ukraine?

Well, President Trump wants that and he would love to have it. The Russians obviously would like to have it too — on their terms. The problem is the Ukrainian side and the European side don’t. They only want peace on their terms and are pressing hard to get that. That’s why Zelensky will be in town on Friday to talk to President Trump to try to get him to release Tomahawk missiles, which Trump said he would consider. I hope he doesn’t, and I don’t think he really will, because that would only raise the risk of a clash with Russia. A Tomahawk missile can carry a nuclear warhead, where others can’t — that’s a much bigger red line. I don’t want to find out if they mean that or not. I’m all for getting this deal wrapped up quickly.