According to British intelligence, the Russian 104th Guards Airborne Division suffered serious losses in the village of Klinki, Kherson region, Ukraine. The source noted that the division took part in operations for the first time in early December 2023, but was unable to complete the set tasks due to lack of combat experience, air and artillery support.
During the battles at that time, the 104th Guards Airborne Division tried to annihilate the Ukrainian army, but due to the fact that the units had just been formed, many of the airborne troops lacked the necessary experience, which led to serious losses in the battle with the Ukrainian army.
According to previously published information by the Russian military, dozens of members of the elite assault unit are missing in the village of Klinki, and a few were injured. However, British intelligence showed that the battle damage of the 104th Guards Airborne Division was much more serious than what the Russian side had announced, and it could almost be said that it was disastrous.
The 104th Guards Airborne Division performed well in the Chechen War, but it has only been in existence for less than three months. Andrei Kovalev, a spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the new unit has problems such as insufficient command capabilities, poor discipline and low combat effectiveness.
Russia** Putin had admitted that the unit had suffered losses in the village of Klinki, but British intelligence sources showed that the reality was far more serious than what Putin had announced. Russia's decision to use airborne forces in Ukraine has also been controversial, especially with the move to strengthen the 58th Army by sending additional airborne troops in the Origov direction, as well as the use of airborne troops as infantry to compensate for losses in ground forces. After the appointment of Colonel-General Mikhailo Teplinsky as the new commander of the "Dnieper" troop group in the Kherson direction, the frequent use of the Russian Airborne Forces in the southern theater of operations also attracted attention.
On December 9, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian Airborne Forces successfully completed all their tasks during a special military operation, more than 420,000 paratroopers were highly commended by the state for their courage and bravery in their operations. Of these, 55 members of the Airborne Forces were awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation, and 36 were awarded 3 medals of valor for their outstanding performance in the special military operation.
This achievement sparked a heated debate about how the 104 Guards Airborne Division suffered heavy losses in the first battle. Within Russia, well-known "military bloggers" openly called for the resignation of the commander of the Dnieper troop group, Colonel-General Mikhailo Teplinsky. British intelligence believes that this is a serious blow to Teplinsky's prestige as one of the most capable field commanders in Russia.
At the moment, Russian officials have not issued a response to the defeat of the 104th Guards Airborne Division in the first battle. It is worth noting that according to Sky News on December 13**, the latest intelligence from the CIA shows that since the outbreak of the war in February 2022, there have been 3150,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in Ukraine, equivalent to almost 90% of the total number of Russian combat troops committed to Ukraine. In addition, the report states that 2,200 tanks were destroyed in the fighting. The CIA believes that these huge losses in personnel and equipment set back the modernization process of the Russian army by 18 years. 100 help plan