Russia suffered 50,000 casualties last month, NATO official says | Today’s news

Russia suffered more than 50,000 casualties in Ukraine last month, killing as many as 28,000 – far more than the losses of Ukrainian forces, according to a senior NATO military official.

The Russian military is trying to make offensive gains in Ukraine, sending troops into “kill zones” filled with armed drones, landmines, artillery fire and other defenses, the official said. Ukrainian forces suffered about 5,000 casualties in the same period, said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

That has intensified the stakes for Moscow at a critical time, as Ukraine’s deep-seated airstrikes destroy oil refineries and data centers and ground offensives recapture more than 125 square kilometers of territory.

Last week, Martin Jäger, the head of Germany’s federal intelligence service, the BND, said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort had created a dynamic that made it difficult for him to end the invasion he launched in February 2022 without paying a political price.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an “energy truce” effective immediately. He did not give details and made a similar statement last month, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said no deal had been reached and the war was continuing.

Defense spending in Russia is expected to approach 17 trillion rubles this year, roughly 40% more than the original plan announced by the government at the end of 2025.

The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Pavlo Palisa, said in July that 43,000 Russians had been killed or wounded on the battlefield. The Kremlin does not release figures on casualties or recruitment, and Bloomberg could not confirm Palisa’s estimates.

This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.