Russia's Military Hit New Casualty Record in May: UK

Russia's military faced a new casualty record in May amid its war with Ukraine, according to the British Ministry of Defense.

The war began on February 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the "special military operation." Putin initially aimed for a quick victory over Ukraine, viewed as having a smaller, weaker military. However, Kyiv's spirited defense effort, along with billions of dollars of Western military aid and challenges plaguing the Russian military, for months prevented Russia from making substantial gains.

More than two years later, Russia this month launched a new offensive in the northeastern region of Ukraine. The move comes after aid from the United States stalled for months and the conflict had remained stagnant. The new front could potentially be a threat to Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine.

On Friday, the British Ministry of Defense released its latest intelligence update on the war, noting that Russia has reached a grim milestone in the number of casualties.

The total number of Russians either killed or wounded since the war began has likely reached 500,000, according to the update that noted losses continued "at a high level in 2024." Russia averaged more than 1,200 casualties per day this month, the highest reported since the war began.

"The elevated casualty rate is highly likely a reflection of Russia's ongoing attritional offensive which is being conducted across a wide front," the update reads. "It is highly likely that most Russian forces receive only limited training, and they are unable to carry out complex offensive operations. As a result, Russia employs small-scale but costly wave attacks in an effort to weaken Ukrainian defences."

Russia has continued to recruit new forces to sustain the approach, but the strategy will "almost certainly continue to limit Russia's ability to generate higher capability units," the post reads.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment via email.

While Russia has continued to face high losses, the offensive has threatened to complicate Ukraine's defense efforts as Putin's troops took control of some areas in the northeastern part of the country. Ukrainian troops have seen some success in fighting back in the Kharkiv region, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in an update this week, publishing a map that shows Ukrainian advances.

The ISW wrote in a Thursday update that growing approval from Western leaders for Kyiv to use its weapons to strike inside Russia could play a "critical role" in its future defense efforts.

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