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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Russia's forces are continuing to face huge troop losses in Ukraine with a sharp spike over the last two months, according to the latest figures released by Kyiv.
On Tuesday, Russian troop losses since the start of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, stood at 231,030, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces posted on social media, up 770 from the previous day.
This figure is more than 31,000 higher than the 200,000 milestone, which Kyiv claimed on May 17, and comes amid Ukraine's counteroffensive, which started at the beginning of June.
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Exact numbers are difficult to assess with other Western estimates putting the Russian toll much lower. The latest update from the Russian defense minister, which Newsweek has emailed for comment, was given last September, at just under 6,000.
Last month, an investigation by BBC Russian and Mediazona found that at least 25,218 Russian troops had been killed, drawing on data from members of the Russian public and verified deaths mentioned by local officials, in media reports or from relatives on social media.
In February, UK intelligence services estimated between 40,000 to 60,000 Russian troops had been killed. In March, Mark Milley, America's top general, told Politico in February that 1,200 Russian soldiers had been killed in a single day around Bakhmut.
The figures come as the Donetsk city remains a key part of Ukraine's counteroffensive in which Kyiv is reporting incremental gains, claiming that 11 square miles in the south and 3.5 square miles in the east had been liberated over the past week.
The Ukrainian military's Tavria command spokesperson Valerii Shershen said on Tuesday that Kyiv's troops advanced up to 1.4 miles in the southern Berdyansk direction.
Ukraine is also reportedly making gains across the Dnieper River by Kherson, a situation which is causing concern among Russian military bloggers worried about what might happen in the war in Kyiv captured its left (east) bank.
However, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky admitted last week that progress in the counteroffensive had been "slower than desired" although Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that his troops are advancing at least 500 meters every day.
"The Ukrainians don't have air superiority, and that makes the whole situation very problematic and slows down the offensive dramatically," Sergej Sumlenny, founder of the German think tank, the European Resilience Initiative Center, told Newsweek.
Russia's well-prepared defenses, including trenches, dragons teeth and minefields have been difficult for Ukraine to take on, he said. "The Ukrainians are trying to organize their offensive under military-technical conditions which are unimaginable for any major army."
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