Ukraine has reported that more than 1,000 Russian troops were killed on Monday alone as the war between the neighboring countries approaches its first anniversary.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram post that 1,030 Russian personnel were killed in fighting, raising the total throughout the conflict to just more than 133,000. Ukrainian forces also destroyed 14 tanks and 28 armored personnel vehicles, officials said.
Reuters reported that the number of Russian soldiers killed made Monday the deadliest 24 hours of the war for Russia so far, but it could not independently verify Ukraine’s claims. It also reported that the figures of casualties from the opposition by both sides have been unreliable.
Ukraine has warned that Russia is amassing 500,000 troops on its border to launch an offensive in order to capture new territory. Ukrainian forces started turning back Russia’s invasion throughout the summer and fall and retook thousands of square kilometers of captured territory before the two sides reached a stalemate in the winter.
But Russia has recently made advances around the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine also is replacing Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov amid a series of corruption scandals as the Russian offensive is pending.
The first anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion will be on Feb. 24.