Yahoo Sports Ukraine-Russia war: Russian casualties in Ukraine 'top 320,000'
Russia may have suffered more than 320,000 casualties in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
In its latest defence intelligence briefing, the MoD said the median estimate of Russian soldiers killed and injured in Ukraine was 320,000.
The casualty count could be as high as 350,000, it added.
The MoD said a “long-established culture of dishonest reporting” in the Russian military has likely created a “low level of understanding about total casualty figures” among Russian officials and civilians.
Vladimir Putin ordered a 170,000-man increase to the Russian Army last week, which would bring its total size to 1.3million soldiers.
03:04 PM GMT
That's all for today
Thank you for following our coverage of the war in Ukraine today. Join us again tomorrow for all the latest developments.
03:03 PM GMT
Today's headlines
A seventh Russian general was confirmed to have died in Ukraine
Russian soldiers were filmed executing two Ukrainians who had surrendered
Ukraine said it had killed the soldiers responsible
Russia may have suffered as many as 350,000 casualties, the MoD said
The White House said US aid to Ukraine would run out by the end of the month unless Congress approved a new funding package
Volodymyr Zelensky was accused of bypassing General Valerii Zaluzhny and communicating directly with his subordinate officers, a newspaper reported
Ukrainian drones blew up an oil depot behind enemy lines in occupied Luhansk
The US believes Ukraine launched its counteroffensive two months late, the Washington Post reported
03:02 PM GMT
I need £300bn and 17m shells to defeat Russia, Zaluzhny told Austin
General Valery Zaluzhny told American defence secretary Lloyd Austin that Ukraine needs £300bn and 17million shells to completely defeat Russia, the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper has reported.
“The calculations of the general staff show that to fulfil the task of the president to liberate the entire territory of Ukraine requires forces and means for $350-400bn (£277-316bn),” a source said Mr Austin was told when he visited Kyiv in November.
“Austin was told about the need for 17million [artillery] shells,” they added.
“He, to put it mildly, was stunned, because you wouldn’t be able to collect so many shells all over the world.”
02:27 PM GMT
Ukraine changes tactics to defence as winter sets in
Ukraine is changing its tactics to “effective defence” as winter sets in, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Undoubtedly, the winter and the analysis of our own and the enemy’s resource capabilities require adjustments in tactics,” said Mykhailo Podolyak on X, formerly Twitter.
“On the frontline and in the cities, we are already moving to a different tactic of warfare – effective defence in certain areas, continuation of offensive operations in other areas, special strategic operations on the Crimean peninsula and in the Black Sea waters, and significantly reformatted missile defense of critical infrastructure.”
He added that the government was focusing on improving domestic arms production.
02:11 PM GMT
Ukraine launched counter-offensive two months late, US officials said
US officials believed Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive started two months later than it should have done, the Washington Post has reported.
They are said to have thought a start in mid-April 2023 would have prevented Russia from strengthening its defences.
Ukraine waited until June to launch the counteroffensive, believing more training and weapons were needed.
The US is also said to have disagreed with Ukraine’s choice to attack simultaneously at three points – east towards Bakhmut and southwards to Melitopol and Berdyansk – in a bid to overstretch the Russians.
The Americans instead held that a massed, armoured assault at a single point on the southern front would see the Ukrainians reach the Sea of Azov within 60 to 90 days, severing the Russian army in two.
Large, mechanised assaults – which had featured significantly in US planning – were abandoned by Ukraine in the first days of the counteroffensive after they caused heavy losses in men and equipment.
01:36 PM GMT
Girl, 8, found dead after Russian missile strike
An eight-year-old girl has been found dead beneath the rubble of a three-storey apartment block struck by a Russian missile.
The girl’s parents are also missing and believed dead after the attack on 30 November in Novohrodivka, a town in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
A 13-year-old was also injured in the blast. Search and rescue efforts at the block are continuing.
01:08 PM GMT
Pictured: Christmas on the frontline
Instead of a thousand words.
A Christmas tree six kilometers from Bakhmut.
📹: Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces pic.twitter.com/8GQzK4A83a— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) December 4, 2023
12:26 PM GMT
Bulgaria's president vetoes Ukraine armoured vehicle deal
The president of Bulgaria has vetoed a deal to supply Ukraine with 100 armoured vehicles.
The country’s parliament had been set to send 100 older armoured vehicles along with armaments and spare parts for free.
Bulgaria’s parliament can overturn president Ruman Radev’s veto by a majority vote.
Mr Radev opposes sending military aid to Ukraine and said Crimea was Russian in a 2021 presidential debate.
Prime minister Nikolay Denkov is a firm supporter of Ukraine.
12:00 PM GMT
Watch: Ukrainian drones 'blow up Russian oil depot in occupied Luhansk'
11:48 AM GMT
Russia launches new assault on Avdiivka
Russia has launched a new assault from two directions on the heavily-bombarded eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka.
“The current third wave of enemy assaults differs from the previous two in that they have conditionally opened two new directions,” mayor Vitaliy Barabash said.
“The launching of new directions proves that the enemy has been given a command to capture the city at any cost.”
Russia’s relentless assault on the town has prompted comparisons with its capture of Bakhmut earlier this year.
Just 1,300 civilians remain in Avdiivka, compared to its pre-war population of around 30,000.
11:29 AM GMT
Russians killed after executing surrendering Ukrainians
The Russian soldiers who were filmed executing two surrendering Ukrainians have now been killed, the Ukrainian army has said.
“I can confirm that in the course of further hostilities, the group of Russian occupiers who committed this crime ceased to exist,” said Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesman for the southern Tavria army group.
Video footage emerged on Saturday showing a group of men in Russian uniforms opening fire from close range on the unarmed pair after they emerged from a dugout with their hands on their heads.
The Ukrainian army’s strategic communications centre said on Sunday that it possesses “confirmed information” that the video showed the “execution” by Russian forces of “unarmed soldiers”.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said on Sunday that it launched a pre-trial investigation “for violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder”.
11:16 AM GMT
Ukrainian drones 'blow up Russian oil depot'
Ukrainian drones have reportedly blown up a Russian oil depot in occupied Luhansk.
Video footage showed plumes of smoke billowing into the sky on Sunday night.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that a fire at the facility has since been extinguished.
The news agency made no mention of any casualties.
Luhansk is a city in the eastern Ukrainian region of the same name which Russia unilaterally annexed in September 2022.
Ukraine is yet to officially comment.
10:49 AM GMT
Zelensky 'bypassing Zaluzhny'
Volodymyr Zelensky has been accused of “bypassing” General Valerii Zaluzhny by communicating directly with subordinate officers.
The Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported that Mr Zelensky has set up parallel lines of communication with Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the ground forces commander, and Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, head of the air force, which go over the head of Gen Zaluzhny.
“There is an impression that Zelensky has divided the Armed Forces into two groups: the ‘good’ one commanded by Syrskyi and other favorites, and the ‘bad’ one subordinate to Zaluzhnyi,” a person from Zaluzhny’s inner circle told the newspaper.
“This greatly demotivates the commander-in-chief and, most importantly, prevents him from commanding the entire military.”
The report is the latest spilling over of tensions between Mr Zelensky and Gen Zaluzhny after Ukraine’s much-hyped counter-offensive did not yield an expected breakthrough.
10:23 AM GMT
US aid to Ukraine 'will run out by end of year'
US aid to Ukraine will run out by the end of the month unless a new funding package is agreed, the White House has said.
Shalanda Young, director of the office of management and budget, told Congress and Senate leaders that “we are out of money and nearly out of time” in a publicly-released letter.
Republicans in Congress are stonewalling a funding package proposed by Joe Biden which would provide £48bn ($61bn) in new aid for Ukraine.
“I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from US military stocks,” Mrs Young wrote.
“There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment.”
Ukraine has been desperately pushing for more foreign aid as Russian forces step up attacks in the east after holding back Kyiv’s much-vaunted counteroffensive.
10:04 AM GMT
MoD: Russia could have suffered as many as 350k casualties
Russia could have suffered as many as 350,000 casualties so far in its war against Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
“Therefore, overall, the Russian side has likely suffered around 220,000 to 280,000 wounded and approximately 70,000 killed,” it said in its latest defence intelligence briefing.
“This gives an estimated range of between 290,000 and 350,000 total Russian combatant casualties.”
The MoD added that a “long-established culture of dishonest reporting” in the Russian military has likely created a “low level of understanding about total casualty figures” among Russian officials and civilians.
09:49 AM GMT
Watch: Russia accused of 'executing' surrendering Ukrainians
Russia has been accused of killing two surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in an apparent war crime.
Footage shows a group of men in Russian uniforms opening fire from close range on the unarmed pair after they emerged from a dugout with their hands on their heads.
The Ukrainian army’s strategic communications centre has said it possesses “confirmed information” that the video showed the “execution” by Russian forces of “unarmed soldiers”.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said on Sunday that it launched a pre-trial investigation “for violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder”.
It said the shooting happened near the village of Stepove in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. It did not say when the incident occurred.
Russia is yet to comment.
09:32 AM GMT
Russian governor confirms death of general 'blown up by mine'
The death of Russian Major General Vladimir Zavadsky has been confirmed by the governor of Russia’s Voronezh region.
“I am convinced that the name of Vladimir Zavadsky, a courageous officer, a real general and a worthy man, will forever remain in the annals of glory of our Fatherland,” Alexander Gusev wrote on Telegram.
Reports of his death in a landmine explosion on Wednesday emerged after Ukrainian Colonel Anatoly Stefan and a number of pro-Kremlin Telegram channels made the claims.
Mr Gusev did not comment on how Maj Gen Zavadsky, the deputy of commander of the 14th Army Corps, died.
At least six other generals are thought to have died since the invasion in February 2022.
Russia is yet to officially comment on his death.
09:19 AM GMT
Russia to change health requirements for call up
The Russian defence ministry has proposed changing rules on the calling up of civilians with health issues that “do not have a significant impact” on their ability to fight.
The proposal comes just days after Vladimir Putin issued an order to increase the size of the army by 170,000.
Independent news outlet Meduza reported that the information has been published on the government’s official legal portal.
The published documents do not specify the proposed changes besides saying they are aimed at “improving” the current health requirements.
08:58 AM GMT
Olena Zelenska: I don't want my husband to have two terms
Olena Zelenska does not want Volodymyr Zelensky to run for a second term in office.
“I don’t want him to be president for another term or two terms,” she told The Economist.
Presidential elections that were due to be held in March will not go ahead because of the war with Russia.
“Our family will be together again,” she said when asked what she wants to do when the war is over.
“We will live together, with my husband and children, all the time.”
Mr Zelensky has said previously that he would only run in a future election if the war was still ongoing.
08:34 AM GMT
Lukashenko hails friendship with China on visit to Beijing
Alexander Lukashenko has hailed Belarus’s “reliable” friendship with China on his second visit to Beijing this year.
“Belarus is, was and will be a reliable partner for China,” Mr Lukashenko told Xi Jinping in talks.
08:09 AM GMT
Pictured: Ukrainian operations near Avdiivka
07:36 AM GMT
First lorries cross Polish border after blockade
The first lorries have crossed a newly-opened Ukrainian-Polish border crossing after a month-long blockade of other checkpoints by Polish truckers.
Ukraine’s border service said 30 trucks passed through the Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv crossing after it opened at 1am local time on Monday.
Polish hauliers are blockading four border crossings in protest against what they see as unfair competition from Ukraine.
They have demanded the Ukrainians’ permit-free access to the European Union be revoked. Kyiv and Brussels say this would be impossible.
07:28 AM GMT
Russia launches 23 drones on Ukraine overnight
Russia launched 23 drones and a missile into Ukraine from occupied Crimea in the early hours of Monday.
Ukraine’s air force said the Kh-59 guided missile and 18 of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones were shot down.
“The enemy attacked with 23 Shahed-136/131 strike drones from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea and a guided missile from the airspace of the occupied Kherson region,” it added.
The air force did not specify what damage the attacks had done.
07:13 AM GMT
Russia censoring soldiers’ families
Russia is censoring the families of soldiers fighting in Ukraine over fears they will damage Vladimir Putin’s expected presidential campaign next year, the Institute for the Study of War think tank has said.
It said a number of online bots had targeted members of The Way Home protest group and accused them of being connected to imprisoned opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
The censorship came within days of the group published a manifesto accusing the Kremlin of betrayal and protesting against “indefinite mobilisation”.
“The promises turned out to be empty,” it said on the Telegram social messaging platform. “We have been betrayed by our own people.”
The group has built support in 29 cities across Russia since it was established three months ago and said it is planning demonstrations.
