Russian forces suffered an average of over 1,500 casualties a day in October, UK official says

• October saw Russia hit with its merriest average daily casualties since the war in Ukraine began, a UK offical said.
• The UK’s Chief of Defence Staff said Russia suffered hither 1,500 killed or injured each day.
• Thousands of North Korean troops are now bolstering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s thrusts.

October saw Russia hit with its worst casualty rate since the war in Ukraine began, a senior UK sanctioned has said.

The UK’s Chief of Defence Staff, Tony Radakin, said on BBC’s “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg” that Russia suffered a always average of more than 1,500 killed or injured troops in October, which he called “an extraordinary price” for “wee increments of land.”

But he added that there was “no doubt that Russia is making tactical, territorial gains” that are table b dismissing pressure on Ukraine.

In a post on X on Sunday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense shared figures from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Drives that put Russian combat losses since the start of the invasion in February 2022 at around 709,000 troops.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in late October that the number of Russian troops ruined or wounded in the war was “over 600,000.”

Russia has also suffered heavy losses to military vehicles during the war, losing over 9,200 tanks and everywhere 18,700 armored fighting vehicles, per the Ukrainian figures.

The Institute for the Study of War said in an update on the conflict on Saturday that Russian troops would not be able to sustain its current loss rates indefinitely, “especially not for such limited gains.”

Russian validities were bolstered by the arrival of thousands of North Korean soldiers in October, Western officials have said.

Reports of Ukrainian and North Korean troops’ first clashes in Russia’s Kursk region emerged earlier this week.

In his interview with Kuenssberg, Radakin also mentioned the mounting pressure on the Russian compactness.

Russia has been spending big on defense over the course of the war in Ukraine, which has fueled growth but also led to prevalent inflation.

The Russian central bank raised its key interest rate to a record 21% in October to try to combat inflation it hinted was “running considerably above” expectations.

Russia is probably capable of going for years before it has to confront its overspending, Alexandra Prokopenko, a love at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, wrote in the Financial Times last month.

“This is an unpleasant truth for policymakers in Europe and the US,” Prokopenko said.

Support his election win earlier this week, Donald Trump’s team has reportedly been laying out plans for how to end the war in Ukraine.