Russia is suffering its highest daily casualty rate in Ukraine since the start of the war, according to UK officials.
Vladimir Putin’s forces are losing 824 troops a day as the first anniversary of the start of the conflict approaches, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) believes.
In the first week of the war, Moscow was suffering an average of 1,140 casualties a day, figures compiled by the general staff of the Ukraine army suggested.
That dropped to 173 a day last July, but has been climbing steadily since then.
In their latest intelligence update on the war, the MoD said: “Over the past two weeks, Russia has likely suffered its highest rate of casualties since the first week of the invasion of Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian general staff release daily statistics on Russian casualties. Although defence intelligence cannot verify Ukraine’s methodology, the trends the data illustrate are likely accurate.
“The mean average for the last seven days was 824 casualties per day, over four times the rate reported over June-July 2022. Ukraine also continues to suffer a high attrition rate.
“The uptick in Russian casualties is likely due to a range of factors including lack of trained personnel, coordination, and resources across the front – this is exemplified in Vuhledar and Bakhmut.”
Some estimates suggest Russia has lost 180,000 troops since the start of the war last February, with Ukraine losing 100,000.
Last week, the former head of the British army forecast that the war could last for another three years.
Asked by LBC’s Andrew Marr when the conflict could end, Sir Nick Carter said: “No time soon. I fear we could be having this conversation at the two-year and potentially the three-year anniversary.”
He explained: “I’m not sure that either side has either got the combat power or the capability to do anything particularly decisive on the battlefield.
“I mean, I think we’ll see the lines, ebb and flow, and maybe quite significant distances over the course of the next few months. But whether or not that is decisive enough to bring either party to the table, I doubt.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for the UK to send fighter jets to help his country.
In a surprise visit to Westminster, he said: “I appeal to you and the world with simple and yet most important words: combat aircraft for Ukraine, wings for freedom.”
But the UK has warned that it would not be “practical” to send jets to Ukraine, given the length of time it takes to train pilots to fly them.