It is estimated that Russia's net troop reduction in its invasion of Ukraine has recently reached approximately 6,000 personnel per month.

The British daily The Guardian reported, citing Western officials, that Russia is newly recruiting around 1,000 troops a day to deploy to the battlefield.

However, The Guardian pointed out that casualties have surged over the past two months, reaching a level where new recruits can no longer cover the troop losses.

A Western official told The Guardian, "It is estimated that the gap between Russia's current troop recruitment numbers and casualties is reaching around 6,000 people per month."

The official claimed, "This situation is why Russian President Vladimir Putin is intensifying offensives targeting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and civilians."

The assessment suggests that Russia is attempting to destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure ahead of the winter season to break the military's morale.

The Guardian analyzed that Russia is pursuing this strategy because its massive troop losses are difficult to offset even through additional mobilization.

Western officials believe that if Russia resorts to another round of additional mobilization, the political and economic fallout will be significant.

This is because when a mobilization order was issued in the autumn of 2022, the first year of the war, about one million people fled the country, and more than half of them have not returned.

Many of these individuals are highly skilled workers, and their failure to return to Russia is bound to have a negative impact on the economy.

The Guardian also noted that even if Russia newly conscripts hundreds of thousands of people, its current equipment and officer numbers make it difficult to train and accommodate them.

Because of this, Russia is also stepping up threats against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in an effort to dampen Western support for Ukraine.

The intention is to break the unity of member states and reduce support for Ukraine by launching cyberattacks targeting NATO or striking civilian facilities.

A Western official pointed out that such attempts are "meant to create a divided and vulnerable Europe," while another official said, "Russia has repeatedly mentioned the possibility of using nuclear weapons to intimidate us into halting our support for Ukraine."

However, Western officials projected that while Russia is escalating its threats, it will avoid a direct confrontation with NATO.
 
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)