According to American and other Western sources, the number of killed and wounded Russian soldiers in Ukraine is close to 200,000, writes The New York Times.

"These losses in just 11 months are 8 times higher than the American losses in two decades of the war in Afghanistan," the publication says.

It notes that the Russian army suffered particularly heavy losses in the battles for Bakhmut and Solyadar.

According to the publication, since Moscow sees Bakhmut as the key to capturing the entire eastern Donbass, the Russian command sent poorly trained recruits and former prisoners directly under the fire of Ukrainian machine guns and artillery.

The Ukrainian side also suffered heavy losses in Bakhmut, NYT sources noted.

The publication writes with reference to Russian analysts that human casualties are unlikely to become a deterrent for

"The type of war is similar to the one the country faced during World War II, when more than 8 million Soviet soldiers died.

Putin is ready for hundreds of thousands of victims in Ukraine, although a large number of victims may undermine his political support," the publication says.