Russia's casualties in its war against Ukraine near 1 million troops, Kyiv says

Russia has mislaid almost 1 cardinal troops successful its ongoing all-out warfare against Ukraine, nan General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported connected Monday, aft Russian forces suffered different 1,000 casualties successful nan past 24 hours. 

Kyiv does not specify whether nan numbers see killed aliases wounded, but nan wide cognition is that they see each casualties: dead, wounded, missing, and captured. 

Ukraine officials person been search Russian troops and instrumentality losses regular since Moscow launched its full-scale penetration connected 24 February 2022. Ukraine and Russia do not uncover their losses publicly. 

In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said complete 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers person been killed connected nan battlefield since early 2022. He besides said astir 380,000 Ukrainian soldiers person been injured and "tens of thousands" remained either "missing successful action" aliases being held successful Russian captivity. 

Russian lawman defence curate accidentally revealed astatine nan extremity of past twelvemonth that nan ministry received 48,000 applications for DNA tests from relatives of nan missing soldiers.

Anna Tsivilyova said astir it astatine a roundtable successful nan Russian Duma connected 26 November 2024, saying nan relatives' DNA had been collected and stored successful a database. 

With nan nonaccomplishment complaint of astir a 1000 troops per day, Russia has already tried to enlistee foreigners into its army.

Up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers person joined nan Moscow troops since nan extremity of 2024 — arsenic confirmed by Pyongyang aft aggregate occidental sources and Kyiv initially reported connected this development.

In April, Kyiv besides said its forces captured nan Chinese nationals fighting for Russia. According to nan Ukrainian subject intelligence, astatine slightest 160 Chinese citizens service successful Russia’s Armed Forces.

Beijing has rejected sending troops successful immoderate charismatic manner, claiming these are individuals who volunteered instead.

Russia’s caller summertime offensive

Russia is now preparing for a caller offensive, perchance complete nan summer, nan Ukrainian subject has said. The fighting has intensified on Ukraine’s frontline, stretching for complete 1,000 kilometres crossed aggregate regions of nan country.

Moscow forces person been pushing difficult astir Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka successful eastbound Donetsk region. 

The US-based Institute for nan Study of War deliberation vessel (ISW) said Moscow has been pushing for months to seizure nan remaining parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, its superior extremity since Russia first invaded Ukraine successful 2014. 

Pokrovsk has been nan focal constituent of Russia’s crushed assaults, pinch Moscow troops reinforcing its attacks there. Its geographic location makes it arguably 1 of nan astir important logistics hubs and highly adjacent to nan rear of Ukraine's conflict against nan Russian invasion. 

Kyiv said Russian forces intended to scope and participate nan Dnipropetrovsk region by 9 May. However, they failed, though they were getting person to nan administrative separator pinch nan Donetsk region.

Deputy Chief of Staff of nan Ukrainian Armed Forces Ihor Romanenko said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to show his troops’ advancement during his Victory Day parade connected nan aforesaid day. 

Meanwhile, nan Ukrainian subject has warned that Russia whitethorn beryllium preparing caller attacks connected Kharkiv.

Moscow has been gathering its troops adjacent to nan separator pinch Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Andrii Pomahaibus, nan main of unit of Ukraine's 13th National Guard Khartiia Brigade, said Russia is trying to move nan troops person to nan interaction line, but has truthful acold grounded to transportation retired attacks.

Putin’s ‘buffer zone’ strategy

Moscow’s plans for nan summertime violative look to bespeak Putin’s plans of creating what he called a "security buffer zone" on nan Ukrainian border.

Last Thursday, he addressed Russia’s government, saying, "A determination has been made to found a basal information buffer zone. Our equipped forces are presently carrying retired this task."

His remarks came aft location officials successful Russia’s Kursk region urged stronger separator measures. Putin noted nan area would beryllium on nan Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions, which separator Ukraine’s Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions. 

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev called for Russian power complete a buffer area encompassing astir each of Ukraine, isolated from a comparatively mini area of nan Volyn and Lviv regions on Poland’s border.

Russia’s erstwhile president threatened that Moscow would prehend each of Ukraine arsenic a buffer area if nan West continues to proviso Ukraine pinch subject support.

Analysing his comments, nan ISW calculated that Russian forces would request astir a period to prehend Medvedev's projected "buffer zone" astatine their existent complaint of beforehand astatine nan costs of astir 50 cardinal casualties astatine existent nonaccomplishment rates. 

The deliberation vessel added that its estimates presume that Russian forces will beryllium capable to support their existent assessed complaint of advance.

"(Russian troops) person not demonstrated nan expertise to behaviour nan benignant of rapid, multi-directional violative operations basal to execute these goals since early 2022 and are improbable to importantly amended their abilities successful nan adjacent future," nan ISW said.