Russia faces unprecedented shortage of reserves to sustain entire frontline

Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, said this on Espreso TV.

"In April and May, the Russians were building up reserves; in June, they attempted an offensive in Zaporizhzhia, which was thwarted by our Defense Forces, so now there is no such buildup," he said.

In his opinion, this is more of an operational process of replacing losses.

"We are really observing this. There is no additional accumulation happening, and in fact, the fact that they are transferring units from Kherson and Crimea to the Sumy region shows that Russia really does have a manpower problem. This is the first time they are unable to fully supply the front with accumulated reserves. They now have to manipulate and move the same units to different sectors of the front. Previously, before 2025, we did not observe this in any direction—this is truly the first time," the expert noted.

Andriushchenko believes this is understandable—they have a lag of 10,000 contract soldiers per month.

"Their losses are increasing precisely because of the final withdrawal from the front line, not due to minor injuries. They are really starting to feel these problems," he concluded.