The UK Defense Ministry said this in an intelligence update published on X, Ukrinform reports.
According to an analysis by Verstka of Russian Pension and Social Insurance Fund data, there has been a record growth between 2022 and 2023 in the number of Russian men aged 31-59 years with disabilities, over the eight years of available data. In 2022, there were officially 1.67 million men with disabilities in Russia aged 31-59 years. This figure increased by 507,000 or 30% in 2023.
According to Russian demographers, this growth was most likely linked to the increase in the number of military invalids.
Read also: Russian forces likely preparing for new offensive effort in summer - ISWAccording to British intelligence, this is almost certainly the case. A significant majority of the more than 355,000 casualties that the Russian Armed Forces have suffered as a result of the conflict in Ukraine have been wounded personnel. The average daily number of Russian casualties grew from the start of the Russian offensive campaign in autumn 2023, reaching a peak of 983 per day in February, the highest rate since the start of the war.
"The record rise in men with disabilities aged 31-59 and wounded personnel will have a significant impact on the Russian medical and social services," British intelligence said.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian army's total combat losses in Ukraine from February 24, 2022 to March 16, 2024 amounted to about 429,580 troops, including 1,160 killed or wounded in action in the past 24 hours.
