On 29 August Ukraine gained a foothold less than three miles from Russia’s defensive lines in the Zaporizhzhya region, and the village of Robotyne was liberated following weeks of fighting over the settlement. When Ukrainian forces split to launch another attack in-between the villages of Novodanylivka and Verbove, prominent Russian military blogger Romanov (with 135,000 followers) described the current situation for Russia as ‘very dangerous.’ But sadly, there has been a dramatic rise in Ukraine's death toll. The grim task of counting the dead is a daily reality, with the unknown soldiers piled high in a small brick mortuary, not far from the Donetsk front line. The figures remain classified, but US officials recently put the number at 70,000 dead and as many as 120,000 injured. It is a staggering figure, from armed forces estimated at only half a million strong. The UN has reported 9,177 civilian deaths. 9,177 civilian deaths.