What You Need to Know: Russia’s continued offensive in Ukraine has resulted in severe casualties, with Russian forces, including North Korean troops and African mercenaries, incurring approximately 8,500 losses in just five days—a figure surpassing U.S. casualties from any year in Iraq.

-Moscow's reliance on sheer numbers, deploying 50,000 troops (including 11,000 North Koreans) to recapture Kursk and Ukraine-held areas, underscores a grinding war of attrition that devalues troop welfare. Daily, losses near 1,770 personnel, plus equipment including tanks and drones.

-The Institute for the Study of War notes that this counteroffensive, though sustained, is hindered by Russia’s limited capacity for effective maneuver warfare.

Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine continues to be a daily meatgrinder. The Russian military is recruiting tens of thousands of additional troops every month, including North Korean soldiers and African mercenaries, to fight on the frontline in Ukraine.

The Russian military is trying to recapture the lost territories inside the Kursk Oblast in Russia while........

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