Russia Has Rebuilt Military to Pre-War Level: US General

Congress was warned on Thursday that Russia is replenishing its forces at a "far faster" rate than the United States originally estimated as the war in Ukraine rages on.

Speaking in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Christopher Cavoli, the head of U.S. European Command and NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, told lawmakers that Russia's military has "grown back to what they were before" launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"They've [Russia] got some gaps that have been produced by this war, but their overall capacity is very significant still, and they intend to make it go higher," Cavoli added.

In a written statement provided to the Senate committee before Thursday's hearing, Cavoli outlined that while parts of Russia's Armed Forces—including their air and land capabilities—have taken a hit since the war broke out, a large part of Moscow's military has "lost no capacity at all."

"Russia is reconstituting that force far faster than our initial estimates suggested," Cavoli wrote. "The army is actually now larger—by 15 percent—than it was when it invaded Ukraine. Over the past year, Russia increased its front line troop strength from 360,000 to 470,000."

Cavoli's testimony comes as military assistance for Ukraine has been held up in Congress for months by GOP lawmakers who have blocked passing additional foreign aid. It also comes as Kyiv is working to stabilize the front lines after weeks of Russia holding a slow but steady momentum, pushing the contact line further into Ukrainian territory.

"The severity of this moment cannot be overstated," Cavoli said during his opening statements Thursday. "If we do not continue to support Ukraine, Ukraine could lose."

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense (MoD) echoed Cavoli's warnings in a statement to Newsweek early Friday morning, emailing that Russia "is producing weapons at the rate of the Cold War era, running their military factories round-the-clock."

"To respond to this challenge, we need more ammunition and weapons," the MoD's press office said, adding that they are "engaging" with both public and private partners to "expand joint defense and industrial cooperation."

"With sufficient support and technological support, Ukrainian forces will liberate our homeland," the statement continued.

The Senate green-lit a $95 billion foreign aid bill in February, which includes $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine. The package also provides aid to Israel and Taiwan amid growing tensions in either region.

House Speaker Mike Johnson recently indicated that he plans to take the bill up for a vote in his chamber in the coming weeks, although the Republican leader has been facing backlash from members of his own party as divisions grow within the GOP. A handful of lawmakers have also threatened to oust Johnson over Ukraine aid debates.

Cavoli also spoke in front of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, telling lawmakers that Russia was "demolishing cities and are destroying innocent lives on a scale we have not seen since the Second World War."

The general also highlighted the need to supply Kyiv with additional artillery on the battlefield, noting that Ukraine's soldiers were being outshot by Russian troops 5-to-1.

"Based on my experience in 37-plus years in the U.S. military, if one side can shoot and the other side can't shoot back, the side that can't shoot back loses," Cavoli said during his opening statements to the House. "So the stakes are very high."

Update 04/12/24, 1:43 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comment from Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.