Russian soldiers are being killed in bigger numbers in Ukraine this month than at any time since the first week of last year's invasion, according to new figures.
Data released by the Ukrainian military and backed by the British government shows 824 Russian soldiers are dying daily in February.
The UK Ministry of Defence highlighted the statistics in an intelligence update. While the figures cannot be verified, it said the trends are "likely accurate".
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"The mean average for the last seven days was 824 casualties per day, over four times the rate reported over June-July 2022," the ministry said.
"The uptick in Russian casualties is likely due to a range of factors including lack of trained personnel, coordination and resources across the front."
Britain also said the Ukraine military was suffering a high attrition rate.
Russian forces over the weekend continued to shell Ukrainian cities amid a grinding push to seize more land in the east of the country, with Ukrainian officials saying that Moscow is having trouble launching its much-anticipated large-scale offensive there.
https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1624662553203802112?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwUkrainian and Western officials have warned that Russia could launch a new, broad offensive there to try to turn the tide of the conflict as the war approaches the one-year mark on February 24.
"They are having big problems with a big offensive," Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, told Ukrainian television.
"They have begun their offensive, they're just not saying they have, and our troops are repelling it very powerfully.
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"The offensive that they planned is already gradually underway. But (it is) not the offensive they were counting on," Danilov said.
The owner of the Russian Wagner Group private military contractor actively involved in the fighting in Ukraine said that the war could drag on for years.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview released last Friday that it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to fully secure control of Donbas. He added that the war could go on for three years if Moscow decides to capture broader territories east of the Dnieper River.
- Reported with Associated Press
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