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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor

Nearly half a million Russians killed in Ukraine war, UK spy chief says

Four white sheets covering human remains lie on dry grass in an open field with rolling hills beyond
The remains of four killed Russian soldiers lie in a field in Donbas after being identified by members of the Ukrainian NGO Platzdarm in September last year. Photograph: Ximena Borrazás/The Guardian

Nearly half a million Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion more than four years ago, according to a new estimate from the head of the British spy agency GCHQ.

Anne Keast-Butler, the chief of the electronic intelligence agency, said in her first speech in the job that Russian forces were “going backwards on the battlefield” inside Ukraine for the first time since late 2022.

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