Russia's 'anti-records': plummeting losses signal dangerous stockpiling strategy

Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko stated this, Obozrevatel reports.

In September, the invading Russian forces experienced a significant decline in losses across nearly all categories, setting new "anti-records" for the current year. While on the surface this might seem like a positive development for Moscow, military analysis suggests it reveals a troubling shift in strategy: a deliberate and strict conservation of equipment that is leading to a gradual stockpiling of military assets.

Last month, Russian losses in tanks and armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) hit their lowest points for the entire period of the full-scale invasion. Only 68 tanks and a historically low 65 AFVs were destroyed. This marks the first time that AFV losses have been lower than tank losses, a statistical anomaly that points to their extremely limited use in combat operations. Analysts attribute this sharp decrease to the severe depletion of Russia's reserves, forcing commanders to save the remaining hardware.

However, this conservation of equipment is creating an unintended consequence—an accumulation of military potential. Without the consistent, high rate of attrition seen in previous months, Russia's military-industrial complex has an opportunity to replenish its forces. This growing stockpile could eventually be concentrated and deployed in a new theater of operations, one that lacks the multi-kilometer "kill zones" that have been so effective in Ukraine.

In stark contrast to the conservation of machines, the human cost remains high. Russia lost 28,490 soldiers in September and continues to rely on "human mass" to press its advantages. With a new hybrid mobilization underway, it is clear that Moscow's strategy for continuing the war does not depend on technological superiority, but on the sheer quantitative advantage of its manpower, transforming its army into a collection of marching battalions rather than a modern fighting force.

• Over the past day, September 30, the occupying Russian army lost 920 troops, as well as 13 artillery systems and one tank.