Russia Facing ‘Costliest’ Period Of War Yet With More Than 1,000 Casualties Per Day, UK Says

There have been more than 1,000 Russian casualties per day among the troops fighting against Ukraine over the last three months, according to UK intelligence.

The ministry of defence reported over the weekend that “poorly trained Russian soldiers are being used as cannon fodder in an attempt to overwhelm strong Ukrainian forces”.

More than 1,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded soldiers each day on average throughout the summer, the British department claimed, meaning the last three months has become “the costliest” period for Russian forces since the war began.

The MoD tracked the losses going back to March 2022, shortly after Russia first invaded Ukraine in a land grab.

Throughout the first year of war, Russian losses averaged at under 550 per day.

In 2023, the average increased to just under 800 per day.

The MoD speculated that more than 56,250 Russian personnel are likely to have been wounded or killed over the past three months.

Moscow rarely reveals how many casualties have been caused by the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in June that the ratio of “irretrievable losses” between the warring countries was one to five in favour of Moscow, but did not offer exact figures.

In April, the BBC reported 50,000 Russian soldiers have died since the invasion in 2022.

The MoD update comes shortly after Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia earlier this month, which has infuriated the Kremlin.

Kyiv has now taken 445 square miles (1,150 sq kilometres) of Russian land – a fraction of the whopping 42,000 sq miles (109,000 sq kilometres) of Ukrainian land Moscow has illegally annexed.

According to the UK’s MoD though, Russia has been cracking down on access to information for its own population to limit criticism over its invasion.

Moscow has limited WhatsApp and YouTube use by “deliberately slowing traffic” and increasing state control of communications and media.

YouTube may be blocked completely by autumn, the MoD predicted.