A new analysis from FilterLabs AI shows that the Russian public is finally growing impatient with the number of war casualties the country has incurred due to its invasion of Ukraine.
The over 200,000 troops estimated by BBC News to have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022 are causing more of a stir on Russian social media and internet forums than in the past, the analysis found.
And while support for the war continues to remain strong in Russia, The New York Times reported Friday that U.S. officials believe the latest analysis is indication cracks in support are finally getting exposed.
According to FilterLabs, the Kremlin pushed propaganda early in the war to avoid a flowering backlash over casualties that now seems to be eroding.
For example, the analysis uncovered that Russian news outlets are now publishing more optimistic articles about the number of Moscow's casualties, albeit with a limited effect on opinion thus far.
"Despite efforts to reverse Russian attitudes by Kremlin-aligned informational sources, the reality of casualties is still one of the Kremlin's greatest vulnerabilities," CEO Jonathan Teubner told The Times.
The news comes after National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on May 1 that U.S. intelligence believes around 20,000 Russian fighters have been killed in just the past five months.
Close to half of the dead, according to the U.S., were mercenaries for the Wagner Group — a private military contractor headed by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin that has been used extensively in Bakhmut.
"Last December, Russia initiated a broad offensive across multiple lines of advance, including toward Vuhledar, Avdiivka, Bakhmut, and Kreminna," Kirby said. "Most of these efforts stalled and failed. Russia has been unable to seize any strategically significant territory."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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