Russia suffered its worst month in terms of casualties, the British Defense Secretary said
Russia has suffered its heaviest losses ever since the start of the war in Ukraine, the UK Defense Secretary told the BBC.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said Russian forces averaged about 1,500 dead and wounded “every day” in October, bringing total losses to 700,000 since the war began in February 2022.
Russia does not disclose its war death toll, but Western defense officials said October’s death toll was the heaviest to date.
In an interview with BBC One’s Sunday show Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Tony said the Russian people were paying a “too high price” for Putin’s invasion.
Sir Tony said: “Russia is about to suffer 700,000 people killed or injured – the enormous pain that the Russian nation is suffering because of Putin’s ambitions.”
He said these losses were due “to small plots of land”.
“There is no doubt that Russia is making tactical and territorial gains and that is putting pressure on Ukraine,” he said.
However, he added that Russia is spending more than 40% of its public spending on defense and security, which he said is “a huge drain” on the country.
While allies of US President-elect Donald Trump emphasized that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may have to cede territory to end the conflict, Sir Tony affirmed that Western allies will stand firm “as long as necessary”. set”.
“That is a message that President Putin must absorb and a reassurance for President Zelensky,” he told the program.
Trump has always said his priority is to end the war and prevent what he describes as a drain on American resources, in the form of military aid and financial support to Ukraine.
But he has yet to reveal how he plans to do that – and is likely to hear competing visions for Ukraine’s future from his various advisers.
Earlier this week, Mr Putin congratulated Mr Trump on his election win and said Mr Trump’s claim that he could help end the war in Ukraine “at least deserved attention”.
Trump’s Democratic opponents have accused him of currying favor with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said his approach to the war amounts to surrendering Ukraine and endangers all of Europe.
Bryan Lanza, Trump’s political advisor during the 2016 and 2024 election campaigns, said the new administration will focus on achieving peace in Ukraine instead of allowing the country to reclaim territory occupied by Russia.
Mr Lanza told the BBC that the incoming administration would ask President Zelensky for his opinion on a “realistic vision of peace”.
A Trump spokesman distanced the incoming president from the remarks, saying Mr. Lanza “does not speak for him.”
Last month, Zelensky presented the “victory plan” to the Ukrainian parliament which includes refusing to cede Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty.
The Kremlin rejected the plan and a spokesman said Kiev needed to “stay awake”.
