"'Death cult' Russians tolerate appalling casualties"

Huddle d in an undisclosed location near the frontline, the two Russian soldiers appeared desperate as they recorded what they feared might be their final message.

- Pjotr Sauer

Introducing themselves as Vyacheslav Trutnev and Dmitry Ostrovsky from the 132nd Brigade of the 109th Regiment, the men recounted how they had fled their position in eastern Ukraine after they were ordered to advance at night through minefields, a move they called a "suicide mission".

"Three groups already went ahead and they aren't responding. And we were the fourth," said one of the two, in a clip published on Russian social media. "This mission was a one-way ticket. We laid down our weapons and retreated."

The clip offers a rare but telling glimpse into the nature of Moscow's warfare, which Russian soldiers have likened to being thrown into a meat grinder.

Throughout the war in Ukraine, Russia is believed to have suffered catastrophic levels of death and injury, reportedly losing up to 90% of the personnel it had at the onset of the conflict.

UK military intelligence claims September was the deadliest month for the Russian army since the start of the war in Ukraine. But crucially for Moscow the massive casualties have neither provoked significant public discontent within Russian society nor discouraged potential new recruits.

Western analysts say Russian casualties in the war so far tally up to 115,000 killed and 500,000 wounded. The staggering death toll - estimated to be 10 times higher than Soviet losses during the war in Afghanistan - is difficult to verify but is consistent with independent open-source reports.

Using official reports, online obituaries on social media and images of tombstones, the BBC Russian service with the independent website Mediazona have identified the names of 74,014 dead Russians. They estimate the real tally to be between 113,000 and 160,000 deaths.

Russia's approach to warfare aims to wear down Ukrainian forces and expose their positions, drawing them out into a fight.