After the Russian army suffered an additional 1,000 casualties in the last 24 hours, Ukrainian general staff reportedly lost about a million troops in the full war with Ukraine.
Kyiv does not specify whether the numbers were killed or injured, but the general perception is that it includes all victims: death, injury, missing, captured.
Ukrainian officials have been tracking the loss of Russian troops and equipment every day since Moscow began a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Ukraine and Russia have not publicly revealed their losses.
In February, Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky said that more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed on the battlefield since early 2022. He also said nearly 380,000 Ukrainian soldiers were injured and “tens of thousands” were either “lossed” or were detained in Russian arrests.
Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister revealed that late last year the ministry had received applications for 48,000 DNA testing from the parents of missing soldiers.
Anna Tsivilyova said at the Russian DUMA roundtable on November 26, 2024 that relatives’ DNA was collected and stored in a database.
Russia is already looking to recruit foreigners into the military with a loss rate of around 1,000 troops per day.
Since the end of 2024, up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers have joined the Moscow army.
In April, Kiev also said that the forces captured the Chinese people fighting for Russia. At least 160 Chinese are serving in the Russian military, according to Ukraine’s military information.
Beijing refuses to send troops in official ways, claiming that these were individuals who volunteered instead.
Russia’s new summer attack
Russia is currently preparing for a new attack, possibly for the summer, the Ukrainian army said. The fighting has intensified along the Ukraine frontline, extending over 1,000 kilometres across multiple parts of the country.
Moscow’s forces have been pushing hard around Pokrovsk and Kostiantinibka in the eastern Donetsk region.
The US-based War Think Tank Institute (ISW) said Moscow has been pushing for months to acquire the rest of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Pokrovsk is the focus of Russia’s ground attacks, where Moscow forces are bolstering their attacks. Its geographical location is undoubtedly one of the most important logistics hubs, very close to the back of the Ukrainian battle with Russian invasions.
Kiev said the Russian troops intend to reach and enter the Dnipropetrovsk region by May 9th. However, they were approaching the administrative border with the Donetsk region, but they failed.
Ihol Romanenko, deputy chief of staff of the Ukrainian military, said Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to demonstrate military progress during the Victory Day parade on the same day.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have warned that Russia may be preparing a new attack on Kharkiv.
Moscow gathers troops near the border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Andri Pomahives, chief of staff for Ukraine’s 13th National Guard Khaltia Brigade, said Russia was trying to bring its troops closer to the line of contact but had previously failed to carry out the attack.
Putin’s “buffer zone” strategy
Moscow’s plans for the summer attack appear to reflect Putin’s plan to create what is called the “security buffer zone” along the Ukrainian border.
Last Thursday, he addressed the Russian government, saying, “The decision has been made to establish the necessary security buffer zone. Our troops are currently carrying out this task.”
His remarks came after regional officials in the Russian Kursk region urged stronger border measures. Putin noted that the zone is along the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions and along the Smie, Kharkiv and Chernikv regions of Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council, called for Russian control in a buffer zone that encompasses almost all of Ukraine, except for the relatively small areas of the Volin and LVIV regions along the Polish border.
The former Russian president threatened Moscow would seize everything in Ukraine as a buffer zone if the West continues to supply Ukraine’s military support.
Analyzing his comments, ISW calculated that the Russian army would need about a century to seize Medvedev’s proposed “buffer zone” at the current rate of advancement, at the expense of nearly 50 million casualties at the current rate of loss.
The think tank added that its estimates assume that Russian forces can maintain their current assessed rate of advancement.
“The (Russian Army) has not demonstrated the ability to implement the rapid, multi-way attack operations needed to achieve these targets since early 2022, and it is unlikely that they will significantly improve their capabilities in the near future,” ISW said.
