Although he has lost nearly 1 million soldiers in the war, according to Kiev, the Russian army is now preparing the new summer offensive

The Russian army has lost almost 1 million soldiers in the war against Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces announced on Monday, after Russian troops have undergone another 1,000 victims in the last 24 hours, in the context of Moscow's preparations for a new summer offensive, writes Euronews.

Kiev does not specify whether the figures include dead or injured, but the general perception is that they include all the victims: dead, injured, missing and military taken prisoners.

Ukrainian officials daily follow the losses of troops and equipment of Russia since Moscow has launched its large-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Ukraine and Russia do not publicly reveal their losses.

In February, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski said that more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed on the battlefield since the beginning of 2022. He also said that almost 380,000 Ukrainian soldiers were injured and “tens of thousands” remained “disappeared in action” or are held in captivity.

At the end of last year, the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense, Anna Tsivilyova, accidentally revealed that the ministry received 48,000 requests for DNA tests from the relatives of the missing Russian soldiers.

Anna Tsivilyova spoke about this at a round table in the Russian Duma, on November 26, 2024, saying that the relatives were collected and stored in a database.

With a loss rate of about one thousand soldiers a day, Russia has already tried to recruit foreigners in its army.

Up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers joined the Moscow troops from the end of 2024, as the Phenian confirmed, following several stories of Western sources and the initial information provided by Kiev on this evolution.

In April, Kiev also stated that his forces took prisoners of Chinese citizens fighting for Russia. According to Ukrainian military intelligence services, at least 160 Chinese citizens serve in Russian armed forces.

Beijing has rejected the sending of troops officially, claiming that they are individuals who have been offered volunteers.

Russia's new summer offensive

Russia is now preparing for a new offensive, possibly during the summer, warned the Ukrainian army. The battles intensified along the Ukrainian front, which covers an area of ​​over 1,000 kilometers in several regions of the country.

Moscow forces have greatly advanced around Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka, located in the Donetk region, eastern Ukraine.

The Institute for War Study (ISW), a US -based think tank, said that Moscow has been trying to capture the rest of the Donetk region of Ukraine for months, its main goal after the Donbas invading in 2014.

Pokrovsk was lately the central point of Russia's terrestrial attacks, with Moscow troops strengthening their attacks in this area. His geographical position is undoubtedly one of the most important logistics centers in the fight against the Russian invasion and is extremely close to the back of the Ukrainian front.

Kiev claimed that Russian forces intended to reach and enter the Dnipropetrovsk region until May 9. However, they did not succeed, although they were approaching the administrative border with the Donetk region.

The deputy chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces, Ihor Romannko, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to demonstrate the progress of his troops during the Victoria Day parade, which took place the same day.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army warned that Russia could prepare new attacks on Kharkov.

Moscow gathered his troops near the border with the Kharkov region of Ukraine. Andrii Pomahaibus, the chief of the General Staff of the 13 Khartia Brigade at the Ukraine National Guard, said that Russia is trying to bring its troops closer to the contact line, but so far failed to launch attacks.

Putin's strategy regarding the “buffer area”

Moscow's plans for the summer offensive seem to reflect Putin's plans to create what he called a “security buffer area” along the border with Ukraine.

Last Thursday, he addressed the Russian government, saying: “The decision to create a necessary security buffer area was made. Our armed forces are currently performing this task.”

His statements came after regional officials in the Kursk region of Russia have applied for stricter border measures. Putin said that the area will be located along the Kursk, Belgorod and Briansk regions, which are adjacent to the Sumî, Kharkov and Cernihiv regions.

The vice-president of the Russian Security Council, Dmitri Medvedev, has asked Russia's control over a buffer area that includes almost all Ukraine, except for a relatively small area of ​​Volyn and Liov regions, along the border with Poland.

Former Russia president has threatened that Moscow will occupy all Ukraine as a buffer area if the West continues to provide Ukraine military support.

Analyzing his comments, the ISW calculated that the Russian forces would need about a century to occupy the “buffer area” proposed by Medvedev, in the current advancement rate, and that he will have losses of almost 50 million soldiers, under the current conditions.

ISW added that its estimates are based on the hypothesis that Russian forces will be able to maintain the current rate of advance.

“Even since the beginning of 2022, Russian troops have not demonstrated the ability to carry out rapid and multidirectional offensive operations to achieve these goals, and it is unlikely to significantly improve their capabilities in the near future,” said ISW.

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