It has been reported that russian President Putin has reiterated longstanding maximalist demands regarding russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, including for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the four internationally-recognized Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
Based on the rate of russia's incremental battlefield advances so far in 2025, it would take russian forces approximately 4.4 more years to gain 100 per cent of the four Ukrainian regions' territory.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence: russia Gains 500+ sq km in July as Pokrovsk Faces Encirclement Threat
Based on russia's average daily casualty rate in 2025 so far, as reported by the General Staff, 4.4 more years of war would lead to approximately 1,930,000 further russian casualties (killed and wounded). This is in addition to the approximately 1,060,000 casualties russia has already likely sustained since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including around 250,000 killed or missing (presumed dead).
Russia announced the illegal and erroneous annexation of the four internationally-recognized Ukrainian regions, including those areas under Ukrainian control, in September 2022, contradicting russia's own formal recognition of Ukraine's independence and sovereignty following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As Defense Express previously reported, in July 2025, russia launched approximately 6,200 one-way attack unmanned aerial systems (OWA UAS) against Ukraine, a new monthly high, surpassing the approximately 5,600 launched in June 2025.
As noted, russian OWA UAS continue to be combined with russia's premier missiles in attempts to increase the missiles' survivability and complicate Ukrainian air defense efforts.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence: russian Record Drone Attacks Push Ukraine's Defenses to the Limit
