Russia has suffered an estimated 600,000 casualties in its ongoing war with Ukraine, more than all of its losses in every conflict since World War II combined, U.S. officials reported on Wednesday. September was Russia’s deadliest month yet, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

“Russian losses, both killed and wounded in action, in just the first year of the war exceeded the total of all Soviet losses in any conflict since World War II combined,” the official said.

Despite these heavy losses, U.S. officials caution that high Russian casualties are not necessarily an indicator of Ukrainian success. Ukraine has also faced significant losses, though exact numbers remain undisclosed. In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that around 31,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed since the war began. The U.K. Ministry of Defence estimated that 1,271 Russian soldiers were killed daily in September, with a total of 648,000 Russian casualties over the course of the war.

“It’s kind of the Russian way of war where they continue to throw mass into the problem, and I think we’ll continue to see high losses,” the U.S. military official noted.

Meanwhile, Russia’s military equipment has also taken a massive hit. Russia has lost two-thirds of its pre-war tank inventory and 32 medium-to-large naval vessels. Despite these losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin has managed to avoid a full-scale mobilization, which could spark domestic unrest. Instead, he has relied on increased pay to attract volunteer soldiers, a strategy that U.S. officials are watching closely.

“At this point, [Putin] has been able to significantly increase the pay of these voluntary soldiers, and he has been able to continue to field those forces without doing a major mobilization,” the official said. “We’re just watching very closely how long that stance can actually be maintained.”

In addition to its heavy casualties, Russia is reportedly receiving military support from North Korea, according to South Korean warnings earlier this week, indicating further foreign involvement in the conflict.

On the battlefield, Russia has made some limited gains in the Donetsk region, capturing the town of Vuhledar earlier this month and advancing toward Povrosk, a key railroad hub. However, these advances have come at a high cost. “The Russian strategy around Vuhledar and Povrosk has brought substantial casualties for minor gains,” the U.S. official said.

Ukraine continues to mount its own attacks, including a recent strike on a base in Russia’s Krasnodar region that was reportedly storing nearly 400 strike drones. Heavy fighting also persists in Russia’s Kursk region, which Ukraine invaded in August in an effort to divert Russian troops from the front lines. While Russia has reclaimed parts of Kursk, U.S. officials believe Ukrainian forces could hold out in the region for months.

Meanwhile, U.S. support for Ukraine remains strong, with President Joe Biden recently announcing an $8 billion aid package to supply Kyiv with military equipment through January. This package is part of the final allocation from the $61 billion in aid that Congress approved for Ukraine in April.

Despite calls from Zelenskyy and some U.S. lawmakers, Biden has refrained from authorizing the use of U.S.-provided long-range ATACMs missiles to strike Russian targets. The concern is that such a move could escalate the conflict. The U.S. official noted that many of Russia’s strategic weapons, including glide bombs, have been moved out of ATACMs’ range, making the deployment of these missiles less effective.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)