Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 casualties, US intelligence assesses: Report

Russia-Ukraine War: The report assessed that Moscow's losses to Ukraine's military have set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years.

A declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 80 percent of the personnel it had when the conflict began, a source familiar with the intelligence said on Tuesday.

Russia-Ukraine War: Ukrainian soldiers practice on a tank during military training in Ukraine. (AP)

The report also assessed that Moscow's losses in personnel and armored vehicles to Ukraine's military have set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years, the source said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to make a last-ditch plea to keep military support flowing as he battles Russia, though he is likely to face a skeptical reception from many Republicans.

Wearing a black shirt and olive drab trousers, Zelenskiy was met with sustained applause as he arrived for a closed-door meeting with U.S. senators. He was accompanied by Chuck Schumer, the chamber's top Democrat, and Mitch McConnell, the top Republican.

Heading into winter, with tens of thousands of Ukrainians dead, a yawning budget deficit and Russian advances in the east, Zelenskiy is asking Washington to provide badly needed military and humanitarian aid.

Zelenskiy, on the second day of his trip to Washington, is due to meet privately on Tuesday with House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson.

Zelenskiy will then head to the White House, where he and President Joe Biden will hold a news conference at 4:15 p.m. local time (2115 GMT).

The White House told Congress on Dec. 4 the government will no longer have funding to provide more weapons for Ukraine after the end of the year. Congress has approved more than $110 billion for Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion but no new funds since Republicans took over the House from Democrats in January.

Some Republicans, particularly those with the closest ties to former President Donald Trump, oppose more Ukraine aid, and are asking about the war aims and how U.S. money is being spent.

Johnson, a Republican, has said lawmakers need more detail on the administration's objectives in Ukraine. His fellow Republicans have said any further aid must be paired with changes to immigration policy -- an exceptionally divisive issue in U.S. politics.

Johnson said on Tuesday he was waiting for the White House to respond. "There's no return volley," he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. He also demanded the Democratic president get directly involved in negotiations on the bill, saying that was "far, far overdue."

"If there's anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill, it's just (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his sick clique," Zelenskiy said at a speech in Washington on Monday to a U.S. military audience.