There is Russia. Its war with Ukraine has caused nearly 600,000 casualties – more than it has suffered in all conflicts since World War II combined, according to US officials.
September of this year was the deadliest month of the entire war for Russia, a senior US defense official told reporters in a call on Wednesday.
“Russian losses, both killed and wounded in combat, in the first year of the war exceeded total Soviet losses in any conflict since World War II,” the official said.
However, the high number of casualties is not a “definitive metric” of Ukraine’s success, the official warned. Ukraine also suffered heavy casualties, although the US did not disclose how many.
President of Ukraine Volodimir Zelensky said in February that around 31,000 soldiers had been killed.
The UK Ministry of Defense put the daily Russian casualty toll at 1,271 in September and said around 648,000 Russians were killed or injured in the fighting.
North Korean troops now fighting for Russia in Ukraine, Seoul says
Ukrainian forces, pictured above, inflicted around 600,000 casualties on Russian forces. (Reuters/Lisi Nisner)
“It's kind of a Russian way of fighting, where they continue to throw mass at problems and I think we're going to continue to see a large number of casualties,” the US military official said.
South Korea North Korea warned earlier this week that it was sending its forces into battle alongside the Russians.
Russia lost two-thirds of its pre-war tank fleet to Ukraine, including 32 medium to large ships.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin “Russia is trying to avoid mass mobilization as this will affect the internal population,” the official said.
“At this point, he was able to significantly increase the pay of these volunteer troops and was able to get this force into the field without having to do a major mobilization.”
“And I think we're watching very closely how long he can actually maintain that position, and I think that's an important thing for all of us to watch closely,” the official added.
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The Ukrainian military said it attacked a base in Russia's southern Krasnodar region on Wednesday, storing around 400 attack drones.
Russia has made some progress in the Donetsk region, seizing the town of Vuledar earlier this month and advancing toward Povorsk, a major rail hub and refueling station for Ukraine.
A woman stands in the backyard of her house destroyed by a Russian airstrike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on October 10, 2024, in Zaporizhia, Ukraine. Reuters/Stringer
September of this year was the deadliest month of the entire war for Russia, a senior US defense official told reporters in a call on Wednesday. (Reuters/Vyacheslav Ratinsky/File photo)
The U.S. official said Russian tactics around Vuledar and Povorsk brought “significant casualties” with little gain.
The Russian region of Kursk, which invaded Ukraine in August, is also under heavy fighting. Ukraine hoped to withdraw Russian troops from the front line to defend Kursk. Russia has since retaken some territory, although military officials have said Ukrainian troops could hold the Kursk region for months or longer.
Meanwhile, the United States continues to invest billions in Ukraine's defense. Last month, President Joe Biden announced an $8 billion package to provide Kiev with military equipment by January. It is the last of the 61 billion dollars approved by Congress in April for Ukraine.
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Despite Zelensky's pleas, Biden has resisted authorizing Ukraine's use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles, known as ATACMs, for fear of attacking inside Russia and increasing its arsenal.
Many US lawmakers supported Zelensky's request, but the US official said the Biden administration is not considering reversing its policy. He said many of the weapons Ukraine is trying to remove, such as Russia's deadly glide bombs, are outside the scope of ATACM.
