Kremlin spokesperson admits Russia has suffered 'significant losses,' calling the Ukraine invasion a 'huge tragedy' for Putin's forces

The Russian army has suffered "significant losses" in the country's unprovoked war with Ukraine, Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, acknowledged Thursday.

"We have significant losses of troops," Peskov said during a live interview with Sky News. "It's a huge tragedy for us."

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NATO estimates as many as 40,000 Russian troops have been killed, injured, or captured since the start of the war — which the Center for Strategic and International Studies said was about 25% of its initial attacking force. Jeffrey Edmonds, a US Army veteran and CIA military analyst, told Insider the high casualty rate was likely because of poorly trained Russian troops who weren't aware they'd be in active combat. He added that morale had been brought down by heavy losses, which has affected the performance of other troops.

"I've seen reports about units being destroyed and things of that nature," Edmonds said of the Russian army. "Typically, we think in the military that if you lose a third of your unit, then you're combat-ineffective because usually, psychologically, one in three dying or being taken out of the fight, your unit typically can't function well after that."

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