Russia’s Spetsnaz special forces have been absolutely crushed in Ukraine

Russia’s secretive Spetsnaz special forces units suffered tremendous casualties fighting in Ukraine according to leaked U.S. documents obtained by The Washington Post. 

The destruction of Russia’s Spetznaz units was so bad that U.S. officials predicted in the leaked documents that it could take Moscow up to a decade to rebuild its ranks.

Alex Horton covered the story for The Washington Post and wrote that the U.S. intelligence leaks detailing the struggle Russian Spetsnaz forces faced in Ukraine were part of the documents shared by National Guard Airman Jack Teixeria on Discord. 

In the documents, U.S. officials wrote about how Russian commanders in Ukraine used Spetsnaz units as frontline infantry rather than in the secretive roles for which they were trained.

“Typically,” Horton wrote, “Spetsnaz personnel are assigned the sorts of stealthy, high-risk missions… for which they receive some of the Russian military’s most advanced training.” But that’s not how Russia used its special forces in Ukraine. 

According to the documents examined by Horton, when Russia invaded Ukraine its commanders were hoping to make gains by using their special forces teams more like regular infantry units rather than in their traditional roles. 

Russian commanders “eager to seize [the] momentum and skeptical of their conventional fighters’ prowess deviated from the norm, ordering elite forces into direct combat,” the leaked U.S. documents explained according to Horton’s analysis. 

“The rapid depletion of Russia’s commando units, observers say, shifted the war’s dynamic from the outset, severely limiting Moscow’s ability to employ clandestine tactics in support of conventional combat operations,” Horton added. 

Photo by Vadim Savitsky, Own Work, Wiki Commons

Official overall casualty figures were not listed in the documents according to Horton, but they did feature estimated figures for three Spetznaz brigades that were pegged at 90 to 95 percent. 

“...all but one of five Russian Separate Spetsnaz Brigades that returned from combat operations in Ukraine in late summer 2022 suffered significant losses,” the leaked document stated in a stunning reveal according to Horton. 

Officials analyzing casualty numbers among Russian Spetsnaz units used before and after shots from satellite imagery of special forces bases in Russia, imagery which appeared to show proof of the losses suffered. 

The newly leaked document confirmed what some journalists have been reporting since the start of the war, namely that Russian special forces have been suffering mightily in Ukraine as the country’s regular forces have struggled to meet their operational goals. 

In March 2022, The Times reported on the deaths of roughly a dozen Spetznaz soldiers that were killed during the siege of Mariupol, a battle that likely didn’t fit the skill set of Russia's special forces. 

In October 2022, BBC News Russian Service published a detailed report on the losses suffered by the 3rd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade during Russia’s retreat from Lyman. 

Photo by Twitter @Archer83Able

"8 people died, two were injured in serious condition. One of them died, one is still alive… The whole group almost died. The guys are real heroes. It's a pity…” the sister of one of the dead servicemen said according to BBC News Russian Service. 

Spetsnaz forces aren’t meant to be frontline soldiers and Business Insider’s Tim Porter noted their roles on the battlefield can vary from covert missions to being used behind enemy lines to guide missile strikes or stage attacks on sensitive targets. If the leak figures prove true, then Russia has certainly suffered a serious blow to its military capabilities.