Rutte: Russland taper over 40 000 soldater i Ukraina hver måned – nesten like mye som USAs tap i Vietnam

Hvorfor det er viktig

Sammenligningen med Vietnam-krigen understreker hvor omfattende Russlands tap i Ukraina er. Samtidig kobler Rutte tapene på slagfeltet til et bredere strategisk forsøk: ved å ramme ukrainske byer, kritisk infrastruktur og europeisk sikkerhet søker Moskva å svekke både Ukrainaas motstandsvilje og støtten fra NATO-land.

Hva som skjedde

Mark Rutte holdt tale under Atlantisk Framtidsforum 11. november. Han заявив, что Россия щомісяця втрачає в Україні понад 40 тисяч військових загиблими та важкопораненими, і порівняв цей показник із втратами США у 56 тисяч військових за 14 років війни у Вʼєтнамі. За его словами, президент РФ Володимир Путін провалюється на полі бою та намагається зламати волю України до боротьби, вдаючись до ударів по цивільному населенню, обстрілюючи українські міста ракетами та дронами й намагаючись знищити критичну інфраструктуру напередодні зими.

Рютте also said that Russia had intensified its campaign across Europe, using arson, drone incidents, cyberattacks and other malicious actions to divide European countries, destabilise their societies and weaken support for Ukraine. He said the hybrid campaign was failing and that NATO countries were responding to each Russian hybrid attack with additional support for Ukraine, alongside higher defence spending to strengthen their own armed forces.

Slik beskriver ukrainske kilder det

Ukrainian media highlighted the comparison between Russian monthly losses and US losses in Vietnam, together with Rutte’s warnings about strikes on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure before winter. The coverage also foregrounded Ukrainian estimates of Russian losses: Zelenskyj’s figure of 54,400 in October, General Staff data on almost 3,000 Russian personnel losses per day as of 9 November, and the Ukrainian unmanned systems commander’s attribution of the early-October rise in losses to covert mobilisation in Russia.

Slik beskriver internasjonale kilder det

The remarks were presented primarily through a NATO lens, combining the alliance’s loss estimates with Rutte’s assessment of Russia’s hybrid operations across Europe. The comparison was intended to highlight the extraordinary monthly scale of Russian losses, while NATO’s response was framed as increased support for Ukraine and greater defence spending by member states.

Der framstillingene spriker

The estimates of Russian losses differ. Rutte cited preliminary October data of more than 50,000 killed or seriously wounded, while Zelenskyj gave a figure of 54,400. The cumulative estimates also vary: NATO assessed more than 1.4 million Russian losses in June, whereas The Economist estimated a range of 1.4–2.1 million personnel, including 374,000–770,000 deaths.

Bakgrunn

NATO estimated that Russia sustained more than 50,000 losses in Ukraine in September, including 28,000 killed, significantly exceeding Ukrainian armed forces losses that month. In June, the alliance estimated Russia had lost more than 1.4 million military personnel. The Economist put total Russian losses since the beginning of the full-scale invasion at 1.4–2.1 million personnel, including 374,000–770,000 deaths. Ukraine’s General Staff reported almost 3,000 Russian personnel losses per day on 9 November, while the Ukrainian unmanned systems commander linked the rise in losses during the first five days of October to covert mobilisation in Russia.