A Pentagon official assessed Wednesday that Russia's military has sustained long-term damage in its ongoing war with Ukraine.
Colin Kahl, the undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Defense, reported that half the Russian forces' tanks have been destroyed already, along with many "precision missiles" in which Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered last winter.
While speaking to CNN, Kahl said: "Putin has failed. Russia will emerge from this war weaker than it went in ... Putin went into this war trying to extinguish Ukraine as an independent, sovereign democratic country. He's failed, and that's not going to change."
Kahl then added, "A sovereign, independent, democratic Ukraine is going to endure."
Back in July, the Pentagon reported that 75,000 Russian soldiers had either been killed or severely wounded in battle, hindering the Kremlin's ability to overwhelm the Ukrainian troops in certain regions.
The above figure may be in line with Ukraine's daily military reports, which estimate that approximately 78,000 Russian soldiers have died in battle since the war launched on Feb. 24.
To counter the manpower shortage, Putin recently signed a law allowing the "military mobilization" of Russians who have committed serious crimes.
The Kremlin now has the authority to pluck convicted murderers and other violent criminals out of prisons, and subsequently place them into battle positions against Ukrainian troops.
The Russian forces, however, might still have a significant weapons advantage over Ukraine.
As Newsmax chronicled last week, Iran and Russia recently "came to a deal" on the Kremlin collecting surface-to-surface ballistic weapons and attack drones for wartime usage.
Ukraine spokesman Yurii Ihnat said one of the missile types being supplied to Russia had a range of 186 miles.
Another long-range missile can cover up to more than 430 miles, according to Ihnat.
"These are ballistic missiles. We have no effective defense against these missiles," said Ihnat, while adding that "it is theoretically possible to shoot them down, but in fact, it is very difficult to do it with the means we have at our disposal. We have anti-air defense, but not anti-missile defense."
Also, in October, Newsmax reported on Ukrainian officials accusing Russia of relying on Iranian-made "kamikaze" drones to attack targets deep within their territory, including in one attack located just 50 miles outside the capital city of Kyiv.
The Ukrainian officials alleged that Russia used drones "of the Shahed-136 type" for the attack on Bila Tserkva, destroying several buildings and injuring one person, reports NBC News.
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