Russian attacks towards the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine have proved successful in terms of territory gained but costly in terms of personnel losses

Russian military airbase left ablaze after drone attack
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Russian forces are suffering around 1,000 casualties a day, more than it is able to recruit back, a western official has reported.

Russia has suffered significant losses following a Ukrainian cross-border assault into the Kursk region and fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow is having some success.

A western official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Russia was losing around 1,000 casualties, which are dead and wounded, every day.

“Russia is losing more now than it is able to recruit,” the official said, adding that there was no sign of any ability to scale up recruitment to offset these losses despite the introduction of more lucrative sign-up bonuses.

It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the incursion into Russia’s border region of Kursk as a “boomerang for evil” in a statement marking Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Speaking during an impassioned video speech filmed in the Sumy region bordering Russia to mark 33 years since Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union, Mr Zelensky hailed the resilience of his nation.

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Among the injured are three children, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Nine of the injured were hospitalised, with six of them listed in a serious condition, including a 16-year-old girl who is in intensive care

“We will definitely help everyone who suffered,” Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app. “Our task now is to endure, to overcome trials, to cope with trouble.”

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Russia launched several missiles and drones overnight targeting northern and eastern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military has said, with air defence systems destroying most of the weapons before they reached their targets.

The attack targeted Ukraine‘s frontline regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine‘s air force said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Most of the missiles did not reach their targets,” the air force said, adding that Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile, an Iskander-K cruise missile and six guided air missiles. It did not specify how many missiles were destroyed.

The air force said Russia launched nine attack drones, with Ukraine‘s air defence systems destroying eight of them over the Ukraine‘s Mykolaiv region.

Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region in the east, posted on Telegram that seven people were injured in the Russian attacks, including a 4-year-old child.

Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv city, said a gas pipeline was damaged in the city and at least two houses were destroyed and 10 damaged.

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.

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