Russia is numb to this conflict

Over the past three and a half years, it has become a familiar sight on the outskirts of Russian towns; long lines of fresh graves covered by wreaths in the colours of the Russian flag - and beneath them, Russian soldiers killed ina war in Ukraine that shows little sign, despite efforts, of ending.

- Andrei Soldatov is a senior fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis

There were claims that in October the Russian army was losing as many soldiers in Ukraine each day as the UK lost in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. New analysis by BBC News Russian puts Moscow’s losses at 160,000, and says they have grown faster in the past 10 months than at any point since the 2022 invasion.

The daily death toll is far higher than during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, when a report of 10 soldiers killed could lead to mutiny. And yet, 40 years on, these long lines of fresh graves grow in silence, as if dug in a vacuum.

Those not directly involved in the fighting prefer not to talk about it. Only a minority dare raise their voices. In the autumn of 2022, groups of wives of forcibly mobilised men organised rallies across Russia, demanding that their husbands be allowed home. But by the spring of 2024, under immense Kremlin pressure, the protests had died out.