Russia lost almost 10,000 soldiers in less than four weeks in Ukraine, according to its own figures.
The death toll – an incredible number for a war that the Kremlin thought would end in a few days – was published on a pro-government website but quickly removed.
There was speculation that a pro-Ukrainian employee uploaded it. Russia previously admitted 498 deaths – but that was March 2.
According to the latest data, 9,861 soldiers were killed in Ukraine, 16,153 were injured. About 15,000 Soviet troops died in Afghanistan after the 1979 invasion, but that was over a decade.
Ukraine puts the Russian death toll at 15,000, but the latest figures are higher than the US estimate of 7,000.
The death toll was part of an update from the Moscow Defense Ministry, and although they were quickly removed from the website of the pro-government tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, they remained archived last night.
While the numbers give a glimpse of Ukraine’s military successes, last night there were signs that the war was turning in Russia’s direction.
A destroyed Russian car near Pryluky in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Apparently, the car was pierced by a large-caliber bullet.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) listens to Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Dmitry Artukhov during their meeting in Moscow on Monday
The dead Russian soldiers were loaded onto the train at night
Odessa locals (pictured Monday) learn war tactics and weapons handling as Russian troops encircle the city.
A British intelligence report seen by the Daily Mail says that Moscow’s forces are making significant breakthroughs.
They used drones more effectively to strike Ukrainian targets on the ground.
Russian forces have also destroyed several Turkish-made TB2 drones that have proven highly effective against their troops and equipment.
The report suggests that Ukrainian air defense systems may also have been destroyed as more missiles found their targets.
Russian missiles hit a training base for foreign fighters, killing 35 and injuring 134 troops, as well as an aircraft repair shop and underground bunkers holding Kyiv’s stockpile of Western weapons.
The report explains how Russia, after replenishing its artillery stocks, “has steadily increased its bombardment of various cities, especially Mariupol, Kharkov, Sumy and Chernigov.”
British defense analysts have also expressed concern that Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic missile could bypass missile defense systems.
Analysts have also cast doubt on previous Western assessments that Ukrainian air defenses remain effective.
The intelligence report says that Russia intends to “completely destroy” Mariupol in order to “serve as a warning to other cities.”
It stated: “The scheme of destroying food and water supplies, attacking civilians, indiscriminate use of firepower to advance is already being repeated elsewhere. It’s based on effective lesson learning [by the Russians] in Syria.
A police officer stands guard at the wreckage of a damaged shopping center in the Podolsky district of Kyiv.
An unexploded rocket at the Mykolaiv cemetery in southern Ukraine on Monday.
View of the site of an explosion in a rocket attack on a shopping center in Kyiv on Monday
In another worrisome assessment, Kyiv fears there is a “high chance” that Belarus will join the Russian invasion.
His armored forces are expected to head south, “probably towards Lvov” in western Ukraine.
During a visit to London, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said: “Several small towns have been wiped off the face of the earth.
“Moscow is afraid of our army, so they are fighting civilians.”