Russia has made slow but steady gains against Ukraine in the Donbas in recent weeks, but at a high cost – several thousand Russian soldiers killed and wounded – marking the bloodiest month of the nearly three-year conflict, US officials at the Pentagon told reporters on Wednesday, the 9th of October, as they briefed them on the progress of the war, reports Politico.
According to the officials, the number of Russian dead and wounded soldiers in the offensive operations in the Donbas has exceeded 600 000.
The estimated number of casualties, more than 40 times higher than Russia’s losses in its decade-long invasion of Afghanistan in the 1990s, is in line with previous Ukrainian estimates but only partly reflects the situation.
In recent months, Russian forces have captured key towns in eastern Ukraine and are closing in on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in the Donbas, a critical centre for Ukrainian frontline forces.
Russian offensives since the summer have consisted of massive artillery attacks followed by large troop advances on well-entrenched Ukrainian positions, resulting in thousands of casualties as Moscow’s commanders appear to have opted for a strategy based on casualties in exchange for captured territory, the official said.
Russia’s recent successes in Ukraine are the most significant since the 2022 invasion, and Moscow appears willing to suffer heavy losses of soldiers in the short term to ensure success.
“They have tried to overcome [Ukrainian] shelling with massive manoeuvres,” said a military official. “If you look at the area around Pokrovsk, the number of Russian forces there is astonishing. It is tens of thousands of troops that they have deployed in this very small area. As you know, if you have so many troops in a very small area… it is an environment with many targets” for the Ukrainians.
Despite its efforts to consolidate its front lines, Ukraine has been retreating since the summer, unable to fully resist Russian attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered his “victory plan” to leaders in Washington and Europe, but has failed to generate much enthusiasm for its key principles – more weapons and the lifting of restrictions on the use of Western long range missiles inside Russia.
This was due to be discussed at a NATO leaders’ summit in Germany, but was cancelled after President Biden and Defence Secretary Austin cancelled their attendance to concentrate on preparations for Hurricane Milton. A meeting of NATO defence ministers is scheduled for next week in Belgium, where the issue is likely to be discussed.
Ukraine has deployed thousands of troops in the Kursk region of Russia since August, which has raised concerns that there may be a shortage of troops elsewhere, but the military official believes that Ukraine can sustain its operations in the region for months. And because of poor coordination and planning, the Russians “have significant logistical problems in moving troops and organising forces” to go on the offensive in the region, the official said.
“There is no indication that they are ready to make a major breakthrough to retake Kursk and I don’t think they will be able to do that any time soon,” he said.