Vladimir Putin’s soldiers are facing “extraordinary attrition” in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, the British defence ministry said on Wednesday.
Russia has not released its overall military casualties in Kyiv since 25 March, the British MoD said in its latest intelligence update.
“However, the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) publishes casualty figures for DPR forces. As of 16 June, the DPR acknowledged 2128 military personnel killed in action, and 8897 wounded, since the start of 2022,” the defence ministry said.
It is “highly likely that DPR forces are equipped with outdated weapons and equipment,” the ministry said.
Heavy shelling has continued to rain on Ukraine’s eastern region Donbas where Russia is pushing to corner the key city of Sievierodonetsk.
Russia is highly likely preparing to attempt to deploy a large number of reserve units to the Donbas, the UK has claimed.
Sehiy Haidai, the regional governor of Luhansk, one of the two territories in Donbas, said “today everything that can burn is on fire”.
Sievierodonetsk, an area of intense fighting, is being turned “into ruins”, the governor said.
