FIELDS OF BLOOD
Putin has lost staggering 300,000 Russian soldiers in his failing war in Ukraine, says UK intelligence
Chilling footage shows Russian troops lying dead on a battlefield after another defeat by Ukraine
RUSSIA has lost a staggering 302,000 soldiers killed and wounded in Ukraine and tens of thousands more have deserted, according to new UK figures.
The stats don't include countless more who were mown down fighting for pro-Putin organisations like the Wagner group.
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The fresh estimates from British military intelligence highlight just how big the blow is to Putin's war effort as he continues to hopelessly push forward in Ukraine.
Russia is said to have suffered its biggest losses of the year in a failed push to surround Avdiivka, where vidoes show tanks blown up and bodies strewn on the battlefield.
The recent UK figures of Russia's casualties chimes with earlier US estimates of 120,000 Russian dead and 180,000 injured.
Armed Forces minister James Heappey said: “We estimate that approximately 302,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already deserted since the start of the conflict.”
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He also revealed Putin had lost 7,117 armoured vehicles since he launched his full scale invasion on February 24 last year.
The figure includes more than 2,400 main battle tanks – out of an estimated total stock of just over 3,000 when the war started.
Crashes, missiles and sabotage strikes have also cost Putin at least 93 fixed wing aircraft, 132 helicopters and 320 drones.
Mr Heappey, a former soldier, added Russian naval losses included 16 “vessels of all classes”.
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He also said Putin’s invaders had lost “1,300 artillery systems” including heavy Howitzer guns and multiple rocket launchers.
It comes as chilling new footage shows how the despot tyrant is using his forces as cannon fodder on the front amid heavy losses in Crimea and eastern Donbas.
A month-long bid by Russian troops to take more territory in a meatgrinder battle for Avdiivka has cost the lives of many soldiers.
Tens of thousands of troops have been deployed in an effort to surround the town - a crucial stronghold thanks to its position as a gateway to Donetsk - but with no real success.
Russia has poured in thousands of troops, brought in tanks, armoured cars and more - but has only suffered its biggest losses of the year in both soldiers and equipment.
Now horrifying video show dozens of dead Russian troops on the battlefield.
The clip, shared by a Telegram channel that has documented Russian deaths throughout the war, was captioned: "A huge number of deaths in the Avdiivka area".
Military analysts have suggested that Putin's troops are trying to encircle Avdiivka, and expected it to happen in only a day or two.
But it has turned into another grinding bloodbath like the year-long fight for nearby Bakhmut.
Ukraine claimed Russia has lost 7,000 soldiers, 100 tanks and 250 armoured vehicles in the doomed attempt to capture bomb-blitzed Avdiivka.
Footage shared by Ukraine also appeared to show Kyiv's forces defiantly pushing back Russian troops in what they described as a "meat storm".
A Ukrainian brigade said Russia launched an assault on them at dawn on Monday with tanks, armoured cars and artillery fire from land and air.
They claimed that within only a few hours they were forced to "flee in disgrace".
Ukraine was thought to have lost at least 70,000 soldiers who had died and 100,000-120,000 who were wounded by late summer.
The UN has recorded more than 27,000 civilian casualties including almost 10,000 killed and 17,000 injured since the bloody war began.
Apparently Putin himself has even stocked his favourite mansion overlooking the Black Sea with missiles after drone attacks from Ukraine.
The dictator has been left fearing for his life after attacks from Ukraine drones successfully targeted the area surrounding his palace in Sochi.
At the beginning of the war his house was considered out of the reach of drones and missiles from Ukraine - but this is no longer the case.
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Just ten months into his brutal war Putin had reached the chilling marker of 100,000 Russian losses.
Experts chillingly warned the tyrant would happily send one million Russians to the slaughter in his desperate bid to achieve victory in Ukraine.
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