In the full-scale war against Ukraine, about 500,000 Russian service personnel have been killed. Total losses of the Russian army, including the wounded, have reached around 1.5 million people.
Sky News reports this, citing British intelligence.
According to an assessment by UK military intelligence, the vast majority of these losses have been suffered by the Russian army since January 2023. At the same time, over this period Russia has managed to seize only around 2% of additional territory of Ukraine.
"I believe these figures clearly illustrate the senseless and futile waste of human life for such minimal progress and in pursuit of such an illegal objective of Putin’s," said the UK Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton.
UK commanders also note that the prolonged war has inflicted significant damage on Russia’s economy. As a result, there has been a slowdown in economic growth, weakening consumer demand and persistently high inflation.
Read alsoHead of the Defence Intelligence Directorate: Russia Has Weakened Economically, but Its Resources May Last for Two More Years of War
At the same time, Western officials stress that despite enormous losses and economic difficulties, Vladimir Putin has not abandoned the seizure of Ukrainian land.
Earlier, British intelligence reported that in recent months the average daily losses of Russian forces at the front have reached record levels since the start of the full-scale invasion.