Russia has been hit by fresh Ukrainian attacks on power plants and retail outlets, including oil refineries and the country's second-largest e-commerce outlet Ozon, as the British Ministry of Defence released a damning assessment of President Vladimir Putin's war hopes.
Among the refineries struck was the Saratov plant, now hit 16 times, as well as a major Ozon warehouse in the same district. The attacks follow months of Ukraine targeting Wildberries, dubbed the "Russian Amazon", in a bid to damage Russia's ailing economy. Reports from inside Russia suggest hospitals are now crowded with injured troops, with the military taking beds from sick civilians.
UK military chiefs detail Russia's losses
UK Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton underlined Russia's loss of billions of pounds worth of military material during the war. He said: "While all these military costs and statistics are noteworthy, the most shocking number is the 1.5 million fighting for Russia have become casualties on account of Putin's invasion.
"Among that number are half a million dead. That means half a million photographs hanging on walls in devastated, darkened homes in Russia, half a million Russian families who will never see their father, son, their brother or husband again.
"And those 1.5 million casualties have been sustained in order to gain just two per cent of Ukrainian territory. The numbers illustrate clearly the senseless and futile waste of human life for such little progress and the illegitimate aims of President Putin. That said, the UK does not have any quarrel with the Russian people."
Economic strain and labour shortages
Gas and oil supplies have been severely hit by Kyiv's daily attacks deep inside Russia, the farthest reaching 2,000 miles this week. Western assessments suggest Putin's war last year took 50% of resources out of the country's budget; this year it is looking like 40%, but the pressure on Russia's economy is enormous, with negative growth and soaring inflation.
Russia is so short of workers to operate its factories that it is believed North Korea is preparing to send women to fill the gap. One western official said: "The economic strain on Russia is becoming very acute. And the west is maintaining its work on sanctions to try and bring Putin's government to a more sensible position."
Air defence depletion and Ukraine's winter concerns
Russia's ability to defend against Ukraine's missile and drone attacks is depleting as its stock of defence missiles plummets. One official said: "Russia is having to make some really serious prioritisation decision about where they employ those air defence assets."
Western officials stress that Putin is showing "no sign" of backing down and is intending to "freeze out" Ukrainian civilians into submission as Russian troops try to "normalise" the killing of civilians. A major concern for Ukraine is Russia's increased use of jet-powered drones, which are tough to defend against. In June, Putin's troops fired 350 of these drones at civilians; in July, the number rose to 1,500, and in August, attacks soared to 2,800.
