Russia loses over 700,000 troops in Ukraine, still fails to achieve strategic goals — Admiral Bauer

He said this during the 17th annual Kyiv Security Forum, which is taking place on May 8-9.

Bauer emphasized that Russia had lost over 700,000 of its people, both wounded and killed, yet had still failed to achieve any of its strategic objectives. He noted that without the support of China and other autocratic regimes, Russia would not have been able to continue the war. He added that the planned presence of President Xi on Red Square the following day served as clear evidence that the forces of evil were uniting, driven by fear of the strength demonstrated by the Alliance member countries.

He also noted that Russia is quickly shifting to a "war footing," but at the same time is suffering enormous losses for "very small victories."

The admiral said that Ukraine, despite facing issues with personnel, was managing to defend its positions very effectively. He added that the current situation clearly showed what had become of what the Kremlin once considered a three-day war.

He went on to say that, despite differing views, it was essential to agree on one fundamental principle: that no country could be allowed to seize the territory of another. He stressed that this could not be accepted as normal and reaffirmed that they had consistently maintained this position over the past three years.

The admiral emphasized that the root of the problem lay in the fact that Russia had launched a full-scale invasion, which had not started in 2022 but had actually begun in 2014 and continued into 2022. He stressed that this was the first key point to acknowledge.

Secondly, he underlined the importance of ensuring a just peace for Ukraine and of continuing support for the country in order to place it in the strongest possible position when negotiations eventually begin.