Russia is on course to suffer its worst month for casualties since the war in Ukraine began 1,000 days ago, according to UK intelligence.

The average number of Russian troops killed or injured reached a record high of 1,354 a day in October, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

That beat the previous monthly high, which was set in Septemer.

But in their latest update on the conflict, the MoD revealed the figure so far for November is 1,498 casualties per day, “indicating that this upward trajectory is likely to continue”.

Overall, Russia is believed to have suffered more than 700,000 casualties since invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The MoD added: “Russia will highly likely continue to experience high casualty rates over the remainder of the year, with continued infantry attacks on multiple axes throughout winter.”

Prime minister Keir Starmer used his first speech to the United Nations security council in New York last month to accuse the Russian president of treating his own citizens as “bits of meat to fling into the meat grinder”.

And a spokeswoman for the PM said yesterday: “In recent days we have seen Putin reach new depths of depravity, systematically attacking infrastructure, depriving families of warmth and light, killing civilians through drone missile attacks as part of his ongoing illegal war.

“As the prime minister said, it’s important we double down and that Ukraine is provided with the support it needs for as long as it needs. Our support for Ukraine is iron clad and will continue on that basis.”