On the front, Russia has a numerical advantage in manpower of 5 to 1, and in some areas even 10 to 1 – The Wall Street Journal

Kyiv is critically short on infantry and is using drones to target Russian troops. While this slows down the Russian advance, it does not stop it. Russia has a numerical advantage on the front lines, with troop ratios reaching 5 to 1, and in some areas, even 10 to 1.

This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing Ukrainian military personnel.

According to a soldier fighting near Pokrovsk, Ukraine would need ten times more troops to completely halt the Russian army. Currently, Ukraine is holding back the overwhelming number of Russian troops using drones and has ramped up production to 200,000 drones per month. However, drones cannot fully replace infantry, and due to a lack of soldiers, Ukrainian forces are being forced to retreat.

Commanders in the Pokrovsk area note that the problem is not only the number of troops but also the quality of reinforcements. Most of the newly arrived soldiers are mobilized men aged 40–50 with little motivation to fight. Some abandon their positions or refuse to go to the front-line trenches.

One brigade commander stated that the 30 soldiers he had at the start of the war were more effective than the 100 he has now.

It is worth noting that Western media present varying estimates of the size of the Ukrainian and Russian armies. According to The New York Times, more than 400,000 Russian troops are fighting along the front line, while approximately 250,000 Ukrainian troops are opposing them. This suggests that the troop ratio is significantly lower than 5 to 1 or 10 to 1.