Russia tries to freeze Ukraine as it suffers record casualties and retreats

Russia suffered its highest losses of 2026 in September, when 46,230 of its soldiers were killed or wounded, according to the Ukrainian military . The new record comes after Russian casualties of about 40,000 a month since June, and is close to the goal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set in January of 50,000 Russian casualties a month. Russia reportedly lost 2,090 troops on September 28 – its highest 24-hour casualty rate of the war. Al Jazeera cannot verify casualty claims from either side. Ukraine says it has video of each casualty, as more than 90 percent of them are caused by first-person view (FPV) drones.