NewsWorld newsRussia Ukraine warRussian forces losing the initiative in Ukraine, losing more troops on the front and facing increasing attacks from Ukraine as Zelensky signs-off more top secret operations against Kremlin14:15, 20 May 2026Ukraine's military has turned the war in its favour by beginning to carry out more frontline assaults than Russian forces, for the first time. Commanders leading the Ukrainian troops say they are killing between seven and nine times more Russian soldiers than Kyiv is losing in battles. Kyiv's Commander of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky said: “Yesterday was characterised by the fact that the number of our offensive operations for the first time exceeded the number of offensive operations of the enemy.‌“But we cannot relax, because the enemy is strong.” The increase in Ukraine’s operations is likely a strong suggestion Russia has decreased its tempo of attacks because of troop losses. Syrsky claimed Russia’s troops losses in terms of death and injury are roughly 3.5 times greater than Ukraine’s whilst for actual deaths the figures are far greater.‌‌READ MORE: Horror in Lebanon worsens as Donald Trump puts 'full-scale' Iran attack on holdREAD MORE: Ukraine 'finds dangerous radiation levels' on Russian missile debrisRussian forces have lost to death and injury a staggering 1,352070 men to either death or injury since the war began more than four years ago. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said recently he had approved a large number of special operations missions against Russia.One UK security source told the Mirror: “As Russia is suffering these losses it is likely Kyiv will want to consolidate on gaining the initiative. Ukraine has had a number of special forces victories, including several on the Kursk Bridge linking Crimea to Russia."‌“But I would expect to see more missions inside Russia, forcing the Kremlin to pull soldiers back from the front to try and secure the rear. Ukraine’s ability to attack in depth Russia’s logistics supply chains has been devastating to the effort by Moscow’s commanders and also reminds ordinary Russians there is a war being fought.”But there also is growing alarm that Russian President Vladimir Putin may push his military into a major assault launched from the north in Belarus. On Monday Russian and Belarus armed forces practised deploying their nuclear forces, in particular their tactical nuclear weapons.‌The exercise was just a day after Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack on Russia. At least three people were killed, and Kyiv claimed it had struck Moscow’s biggest refinery, a major oil depot and a microelectronics factory.All of the targets of the Ukrainian attack on Sunday were aimed at crippling the ability for Moscow to make components for weapons of war. Russia is believed to be gathering a huge force in embattled Pokrovsk of some 90,000 troops in preparation to try and storm the town, a key logistics hub for Ukraine.Article continues belowPokrovsk has become the place for the most ferocious fighting as it forms an intersection for key highways and rail routes. It has also been claimed Russian commanders have sent soldiers for training in China. So far it is believed as many as 200 have received training in drone warfare by Beijing.As well as suffering terrible troop losses Russia has also lost 11943 tanks, 436 warplanes, 353 helicopters and 33 warships in battles.Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Vladimir PutinSoldiersSpecial forcesFitnessRussiaRussia Ukraine war