Rising Russian casualties and heavy financial losses caused by Ukraine indicate that Putin’s Russia has not learnt anything from the history of the Soviet Union.

According to some conservative estimates, more than 50,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict. This is believed to be in addition to over 22,000 mercenaries that Russia sent to the killing fields of Ukraine to boost its military position.

There are conflicting claims about the number of Russians that may have died in the conflict, with Ukrainian sources asserting that as of April 26, more than 463,930 personnel of the Russian army have died while over 1,391,790 are injured. The assessment of Ukrainian forces also asserts that Russia lost 13,972 armoured combat, 7,269 tanks, 11,898 artillery, 348 aircraft, 325 helicopters and 26 ships and boats.

It is not only Ukrainian sources that have come up with a higher death toll, but some other Western sources have also claimed higher fatalities. For instance, a declassified US intelligence document reportedly claimed last year in December that the Ukraine war cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90 per cent of the personnel. The document asserted that Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with 360,000 personnel, claiming about 87 per cent of the total with which it started the war were either killed or wounded.

Some Western sources estimate the death toll to be even higher. Last month, the UK’s Ministry of Defence revealed that more than 355,000 Russian personnel were killed and wounded in the Ukraine war. The ministry estimated that the average daily number of Russian casualties throughout February was the highest since the start of the invasion. It put the figure at 983 casualties per day.

Russia dismisses these numbers as highly exaggerated. Moscow believes that Western sources underestimate Ukrainian losses, but speculations will continue to fuel unless the Russian........

© The News International