Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered Russia’s “largest losses since the Second World War”, according to the UK.
In its latest update on X, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Russian Armed Forces have “likely sustained approximately 900,000 casualties” since the war began in 2022.
That includes between 200,000 and 250,000 troops who have been killed.
Russia has not seen such bloodshed like it at all in the post-WW2 era, the MoD said.
But this is unlikely to deter the Russian president, according to the UK.
The intelligence officials claimed: “Russian president Putin and the Russian military leadership highly likely prioritise their conflict objectives over the lives of Russian soldiers.
“They are almost certainly prepared to tolerate continuously high casualty rates so long as this does not negatively affect public or elite support for the war, and those losses can be replaced.”
Putin has claimed that his objective to is “demilitarise and denazify” Ukraine, and to neutralise Russia’s European neighbour so it does not get any closer to the west.
It’s widely thought that the Russian president actually wants to erase Ukraine as a state, and make it part of his country in a wider land grab.
The MoD also suggested that most of the losses on the Russian frontline come from poorer ethnic minorities.
The officials said: “Putin and the Russian leadership highly likely place significantly less value on the lives of ethnic minority Russian citizens from impoverished regions, with Russian recruitment efforts consequently focused disproportionately on these areas.”
For instance, Slavic Russians from urban areas – like Moscow or St Petersburg – have contributed far fewer service personnel in comparison to their size compared to poorer areas with ethnic minorities, according to UK intelligence.
This update comes after Donald Trump triumphantly announced that he had pushed Putin to agree to a partial 30-day ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure – although Kyiv had committed to a full month-long truce.
Ukraine later accused Russia of immediately breaching the plan and launching overnight strikes across the country.