Russian media: Hundreds of Russian conscripts killed in Luhansk Oblast

According to Russian media outlet Verstka, Ukrainian forces attacked the battalion of mobilized Russians, killing hundreds near Makiivka village in the embattled Luhansk Oblast on Nov. 2.

Verstka cited a Russian conscript who survived the attack. 

The Russian battalion was formed out of conscripts from the Russian Voronezh region, Verstka reported.

According to the media outlet, the unit was supposed to stay 15 kilometers away from the front line but was deployed there without equipment on the night of Nov. 2. When Russian positions were shelled by Ukrainian artillery, Russian commanders fled from the position.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's plans to continue with covert mobilization suggest that partial mobilization did not produce sufficient forces for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Putin's claim on Nov. 4 that Russia had exceeded its goal of mobilizing 300,000 men doesn't stack up with his Nov. 4 decree that allows Russian officials to mobilize citizens with outstanding convictions and serious crimes, the ISW said.

A statistical analysis by Russian independent media outlet Mediazona suggests that around 492,000 men have likely been conscripted into the army since Putin's announcement of a "partial mobilization" on Sept. 21.

As of the latest figures shared by the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia has lost 75,440 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24.