Every month Russia is losing 6,000 more soldiers in Ukraine than it can recruit, writes The Guardian, citing estimates from Western experts. According to the data, Moscow signs contracts with 1,000 mercenaries every day, but its losses on the battlefield in the form of killed and wounded soldiers are much higher, "Focus" calculates.
Vladimir Putin's reaction to this was to escalate his attacks and attack civilian infrastructure and civilians in Ukraine, launching more than 360 missiles since the beginning of July and taking advantage of Kiev's lack of defense against ballistic missiles. It is clear that Moscow intends to try to break Ukrainian morale by destroying its energy infrastructure this winter, the publication notes.
Such tactics are partly because Putin has limited options to overcome huge losses on the battlefield with more recruitment of soldiers. Western officials believe that further mobilization would pose a great risk both politically and economically.
It is recalled that the last such event, in the fall of 2022, led to the departure of about a million Russians, often highly qualified, from the country, with less than half of them returning. It is also unclear whether the Russian army could absorb the thousands of new recruits who would be called up, given the lack of equipment and officers.