OPINION — “Since January 2024, Russian forces have seized roughly 5,000 sq. kilometers [1,931 square miles] of further Ukrainian territory, lower than one % of the nation. In sure areas, reminiscent of Kharkiv, Russia’s charge of advance is as little as 50 meters [55 yards] per day on common. These incremental good points have come at the price of heavy losses. This quarter [April 1, 2025-to-June 30, 2025], Russian casualties within the Russia-Ukraine battle seemingly surpassed a million, together with roughly 250,000 killed and 750,000 wounded, lacking, or captured. Russian fatalities throughout three years of battle towards Ukraine are 15 occasions better than these skilled in the course of the Soviet Union’s decade-long battle in Afghanistan.”
That’s an excerpt from the 120-page Particular Inspector Basic for Operation Atlantic Resolve Quarterly Report to america Congress, required by a provision within the fiscal 2024 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act.
Launched publicly August 12, 2025, the report [seventh in the series] summarized U.S. Authorities help to Ukraine and the broader response to Russia’s full-scale invasion, together with help for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), help for NATO companions, and U.S. navy, diplomatic, and humanitarian exercise.
I discovered the report, performed collectively by the acting-Inspectors Basic of the Protection Division (DoD), State Division (DoS) and Company for Worldwide Growth (AID) – which is now a part of DoS, contained fascinating information and analyses about U.S., Ukrainian, Russian and NATO nation actions that I had not learn elsewhere.
For instance, based on the report, “The battle continued to be characterised by exchanges of artillery and UAS (unmanned plane methods) strikes. Since final quarter, Russia’s artillery hearth charge elevated from roughly 23,000 rounds per day to between 27,000 and 28,000 rounds per day. Russia elevated its expenditure of one-way assault unmanned aerial autos (UAV) in one in all its precedence areas from 7,000 in April to 10,000 in Could. The DIA (Protection Intelligence Company) stated that, extrapolating from this one space, it’s attainable that Russia is expending as much as 72,000 tactical UAVs per 30 days in roughly 9 foremost operational areas.”
On the entrance strains, the report stated, a “novel Russian tactic is utilizing UAVs to ship grenades crammed with riot management brokers, reminiscent of CS fuel and Chloropicirin [a tear gas]…Russia deploys these UAVs to clear UAF (Ukraine Armed Forces) from entrenched preventing positions and into extra open or weak areas. Whereas these chemical brokers should not thought of deadly, Russia makes use of them to form the battlefield and trigger UAF casualties.”
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One other Russian tactic, based on the report, is “a constant enhance in Russia’s jamming of International Navigation Satellite tv for pc Techniques alongside its borders, with a notable focus within the Baltic Sea area. This exercise is probably going a part of a broader pressure safety measure as Russia fields extra weapon methods. Nevertheless, it’s also seemingly that the intensification of jamming within the Baltic area is a response to the Baltic states supporting Ukraine. The navigation jamming had a major detrimental impact on business air and maritime site visitors within the area.”
The report additionally shared some fascinating numbers that assist paint an image of simply how a lot this battle is costing Russia’s navy. “Since January 2024, Russia has misplaced roughly 1,149 armored preventing autos, 3,098 infantry preventing autos, 300 self-propelled artillery autos, and 1,865 tanks, based on a assume tank evaluation. Russian losses of those platforms have been considerably greater than Ukraine’s, at ratios various from 5:1 to 2:1.”
As of June, based on the report, “Ukraine had misplaced management of roughly 20 % of its total territory. Russian forces recaptured all however a small portion of Russia’s Kursk area [which Ukraine invaded in August 2024] and gained management of a whole lot of sq. kilometers [100 square kilometers equals 38.6 square miles] throughout Ukraine’s Sumy, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson areas since January, based on the DIA.”
The report described different Ukrainian challenges saying that this quarter, “the UAF had struggled with insufficient recruitment, desertions from the entrance line, refusals to battle, and undertrained personnel, leading to most of its frontline brigades working beneath fight energy…Regardless of these challenges, the Ukrainian authorities continued to reject calls to decrease the conscription age from 25 to 18 as a result of potential long-term demographic results and public opposition. Nevertheless, on July 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a regulation rising the utmost age for brand spanking new recruits to 60.”
The experiences states that “Ukraine sought to bolster its ranks by recruiting contract troopers from overseas. In Could, Ukraine opened a brand new recruitment heart and launched a digital promoting marketing campaign focused on recruitment in Latin America.” One outcome, the report stated, “Veterans of Colombia’s drug battle, skilled in guerrilla techniques, symbolize a major contingent of Ukraine’s volunteers. Ukraine has recruited roughly 27,000 troopers per 30 days, roughly 15,000 beneath Russia’s recruitment charge. By providing contracts of as much as $3,000 per 30 days, Ukraine goals to bolster this complete by recruiting a number of thousand contract troopers from overseas.”
The report additionally described the big selection of U.S. help offered to the world because the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
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For instance, since that date, the report stated, “Congress has appropriated or in any other case made obtainable $187 billion for OAR and the broader Ukraine response,” out of which “$30 billion remained obtainable for obligation” as of June 30, 2025.
Of the above talked about $187 billion, some $134 billion was thought of “safety associated,” and included, the report stated, $45.78 billion appropriated to the DoD to interchange U.S. weapons and materiel donated to Ukraine; and $33.5 billion for applications Congress created to assist Ukraine purchase U.S. weaponry and in any other case present for its self-defense.
The biggest quantity, $47.43 billion, was for forward-deployment of U.S. navy forces and prepositioned shares in Japanese Europe to discourage aggression towards NATO allies. I ought to observe right here, the report stated that in this previous quarter, the DoD maintained roughly 81,600 U.S. navy and seven,400 civilian personnel within the European Command space of operations. These embrace rotating from the U.S. to Europe, usually for 9 months, two armor brigade fight groups and one infantry brigade fight group.
The report notes: “Not one of the appropriation payments enacted within the present fiscal yr [which ends September 30, 2025]…have provisions appropriating or rescinding appropriated funds particularly for OAR,” which I remind readers are for the navy response to the Ukraine battle.
Nevertheless, the report stated that the U.S. pause in Ukraine navy help from March 3 to March 11, ordered by Trump within the wake of his confrontational Oval Workplace assembly with Zelensky, “had important residual results on the supply of safety help, together with Superior Precision Kill Weapon System proximity fuzes and 155mm high-explosive ammunition. The short-term halt in processing new requests led to materiel being held in place whereas awaiting additional U.S. coverage determinations.”
With the Trump administration withdrawing from management of the Ukraine help actions, the report famous that NATO personnel assumed management over logistics and distant upkeep co-located in Jasionka, Poland. As host nation, Poland assumed the lead as soon as performed by the U.S.
The U.S. and its worldwide companions continued to supply various coaching to the UAF at Grafenwoehr Coaching Space in Germany, in addition to different places in Europe. This quarter, Grafenwoehr opened a brand new trench system designed to duplicate battlefield circumstances.
The report additionally stated that “The UAF faces a scarcity of medical doctors, nurses, paramedics, and specialists, particularly in frontline areas, resulting in overwhelmed services and decreased entry to care. The remaining healthcare employees are experiencing important trauma and burnout, additional exacerbating staffing points.” As well as, “the UAF doesn’t at all times make use of skilled medical personnel based on their specialty, and dentists are sometimes employed as infantry troopers,” based on the report.
State’s Bureau of Political Navy Affairs, Workplace of Weapons Elimination and Abatement (PM/WRA) leads the U.S. Authorities’s demining efforts in Ukraine. Through the quarter, the report stated, “State PM/WRA supported implementers and Ukrainian authorities operators in clearing 11,200 acres of land in Ukraine, most of which was agricultural, and in destroying 4,556 landmines and gadgets of unexploded ordnance. The implementers additionally offered explosive ordnance threat training to eight,042 folks dwelling in or close to minefields.”
State PM/WRA “additionally offered 104 units of private protecting tools, 151 detectors, and 52 autos to Ukrainian authorities deminers, strengthening their potential to conduct demining operations with out exterior help,” the report stated.
The report additionally offered some particulars on the influence of the Trump administration ending USAID applications, disclosing that of the 163 Ukraine overseas help applications for which State officers offered data, 85 have been terminated, 76 continued unchanged, and two have been amended.
One which was continued, based on the report, associated to $45 million of USAID funds contracted out to the Division of Power and Nationwide Nuclear Safety Company for a sequence of applications. One $25 million program was: “Procure, ship, and set up small-scale turbines at choose cities close to Ukraine’s nuclear energy vegetation to make sure dependable energy era to native essential infrastructure,” based on the report.
After pauses, the funds have been made obtainable and following the completion of the overseas help evaluation, the DoE and the NNSA resumed actions associated to distributed energy era and passive safety, together with finishing the complete obligation of $45 million.
Nevertheless, based on the report, as of July 1, State assumed accountability for administering most overseas help, which concerned roughly $1 billion in energetic awards and greater than $3 billion in terminated awards that also require formal closeout. USAID Ukraine reported that just about 80 % of the mission’s technical and contract personnel had departed by June 25 so as to adjust to the July 1 deadline for his or her separation from service.
“USAID Ukraine reported that 9 American former USAID employees have been being employed by State to handle help applications in Ukraine,” the report stated, including, “State reported that it plans to rent some former USAID overseas service nationals to handle help applications in Ukraine, however this had not but occurred as of the tip of the quarter.” As of mid-June, State had not but formally recognized contracting and grants officers for a lot of USAID applications.
The Inspectors Basic on this report record plans for the present quarter, and amongst them is a State Division IG proposed “Analysis of Division of State Administration of International Help Program from the U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth” which can “describe State’s administration of U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth overseas help applications and related awards transferred to State.”
I look ahead to studying that report, if and when it’s launched.
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