Half a million casualties, fuel shortages and key infrastructure destroyed; Putin’s war machine continues to take its toll in Russia.

It has now been more than 50 months since the Russian president launched his ‘special military operation’ – a war which has now outlasted the First World War and dragged on longer than Russia’s conflict against Nazi Germany.

Now, new reports suggest that Russian soldiers are being butchered not within days or hours, but within minutes of going to war.

In fact, Russian recruits can expect to last barely half an hour upon arriving on the frontline, an expert has said.

Peter Frankopan, a professor of global history at Oxford University, said that eight Russians are being either killed or seriously injured for every Ukrainian.

More than 30,000 Russian soldiers have lost their lives this year.

So little wonder that Putin is having to entice new recruits with bonuses to the tune of £60,000 as well as debt relief up to £105,000.

Some 420,000 were reported by state media to have taken up one-year-long contracts.

However, as Professor Frankopan explains, Russia’s accelerating rate of casualties is very much down to new military technology and tactics.

In a column for Foreign Policy, he argues that recruits are being killed within 20 minutes of setting foot on the battlefield.

According to Russian military bloggers, an average fighter can expect to last somewhere between 10 days and three weeks from arriving at a training ground.

Drones have become a primary weapon, with Ukrainian forces launching them against not just military targets but key oil infrastructure as well.

Addressing the shortage of petrol at pumps, Putin conceded to senior officials ‘problems’ had been caused by supply issues and said he was considering measures such as a ban on diesel exports.

And as the impact of the war is felt deeper into Russia and more subtlely by consumers, the mood has begun to turn against Putin.

Last month, business leaders conceded that there was ‘profound disappointment’ in the dictator’s leadership.

One told the Guardian there was a sense a ‘growing catastrophe is looming’ amid concern over ‘utterly senseless, self-destructive decisions’ being made.

Despite frequently alluding to historical Russian figures such as Peter the Great, Putin actually resembles Tsar Nicholas II, who was ousted in 1917 following the First World War, says Professor Frankopan.

The president has instead made many missteps including ‘micromanaging the war, disappearing for long spells, and then making bizarre public appearances’, he said.

He added that Putin would likely try to cling on to power by any means and even ‘pull the heads of others under the water’ to stay on top.

‘Putin will do what it takes to stay in power—not least since the consequences of his stepping down or being forced to step down are unforeseeable; they could very well lead to his imprisonment or death’, he writes.

‘If a quarter of a century has taught one thing about Putin, it is that he is a poor strategist and decision-maker. He is used to having his cake and eating it.’

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