Gen. Waldemar Skrzypczak, a former commander of the Polish army, said Russia has suffered heavy troop and equipment losses in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin "is not in a position to start any new military conflict."
Skrzypczak added: "Russia will not be able to fight another war for the next five years or so."
He told Poland's PAP news agency in an interview that "the losses sustained by the Russian army in terms of equipment will require the munitions to be replenished, weakening Russia's military capabilities for many years."
Around 30,850 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Putin invaded the country in late February, according to Ukrainian military authorities.
The Russians have also lost 1,363 tanks, 3,354 armored fighting vehicles, 661 artillery systems, 207 multiple launch rocket systems, 95 air defense systems, 210 warplanes, 175 helicopters, 13 warships, 521 unmanned aerial vehicles, and 2,325 other vehicles and tanker trucks, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Thursday, as cited by the ukrinform.net website.
Thursday is day 99 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Britain's defence ministry said this week that Russia is believed to have suffered "devastating losses" among mid- and lower-level officers in its war against Ukraine, raising the prospect of a further decline in troop morale.
(gs)
Source: PAP, ukrinform.net