Kathrine Frich
Analysts say President Vladimir Putin is working overtime to keep these massive setbacks quiet.
When an army struggles on the battlefield, leaders back home often try to paint a different picture.
That political spin only works for a while. Eventually, the actual human cost becomes too massive to hide.
Now, fresh figures from the front lines reveal a devastating reality for one world leader.
A staggering toll
The Russian military just hit a bleak new milestone in Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian General Staff cited by Daily Express, Moscow saw 42,860 casualties during the month of July.
That massive figure marks the worst monthly loss rate since the full-scale invasion began in early 2022. It is a staggering jump. Back in February, the reported number sat at just over 26,000 casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky painted an even darker picture recently. He claims the invading forces have suffered almost 700,000 deaths and around 1.6 million total casualties since the conflict started.
Hiding the truth
Analysts say President Vladimir Putin is working overtime to keep these massive setbacks quiet. The Institute for the Study of Warfare reports that Putin is “desperately attempting to disguise” how slowly his troops are moving.
To cover up the reality, the Kremlin relies heavily on “exaggerated claims of advance” across the battlefield. Russian state media like TASS recently boasted about capturing numerous settlements.
Researchers at the ISW quickly pushed back against those glowing reports. They explained that Moscow is running a “cognitive warfare effort” to trick the public and “deny this fact” of their massive losses.
The think tank outlined the ultimate propaganda goal. Russian leaders want to “falsely show that Russian forces are advancing in all sectors of the front, that Ukrainian lines are collapsing, and that the West should abandon Ukraine as a hopeless cause.”
Barely moving forward
In reality, the invading army is moving at a total crawl. The ISW reported that Russia is “paying an increasingly high price for no significant increase in the rate of advance”.
Actual progress measures out to just over 18 square kilometers a day. That is barely a crawl. Think tank analysts point out that soldiers are moving no faster than a simple walking pace.
This intense messaging push aims to convince ordinary citizens that the soaring death toll is worth the pain. It is a tough sell. The current slow progress falls far short of what Moscow actually needs to collapse the Ukrainian defensive lines before the year ends.
Sources: Institute for the Study of Warfare, Ukrainian General Staff, TASS, Daily Express
