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Russia is re-equipping and redeploying forces, say Western officials, as the offensive shifts to the Donbas region.
The test for the elite maroon berets is said to be one of the hardest in the world Image caption: The test for the elite maroon berets is said to be one of the hardest in the world

We reported earlier that the BBC has been able to verify the deaths of more than 1,000 Russian troops, of whom about 20% are officers.

Even if we talk about confirmed losses only - there is evidence that Russia has lost some of its best specialists, including elite special forces operators, highly skilled fighter pilots and some experienced commanders.

It takes five years and at least $10,000 to prepare an infantry lieutenant in Russia. For other specialties, the cost rises to $60,000 per officer. It costs between $4m and $14m (and takes up to 14 years) to prepare a skillful fighter pilot.

We also noticed another trend. About 15% of all confirmed losses are paratroopers from units which are considered the elite of the Russian army. And preparation of a paratrooper in Russia demands more money and time compared to an infantryman. So these are sensitive losses.

Some servicemen were very experienced, for example fighter pilot Capt Sergei Volynets fought in Georgia and Syria, and had several medals.

There are at least 15 military intelligence special forces operators (including five officers) and three maroon berets in the confirmed losses list. These take months or even years to train and educate. The test to get a maroon beret is considered to be one of the hardest in the military world.