Hello. For each kilometre of Ukraine gained by Russia in 2024, Moscow lost 27 soldiers, analysis by the BBC's Russian Service has found. In Syria, a BBC team gained access to an Alawite-majority area and spoke to residents following a wave of violence that left almost 900 people dead in March. And finally, today is the last day of Skype - we spoke to some of those whose lives the video calling site changed.

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It's a bank holiday here in the UK so we won't be sending an email this evening, but I'll be back in your inboxes tomorrow.

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Russia's record losses in Ukraine in 2024

Russian conscripts train for combat in the first year of the full-scale war. Credit: EPA

Last year was the deadliest for Russian forces since the start of its invasion of Ukraine, with at least 45,287 troops killed. Analysis by the BBC Russian Service, in collaboration with independent media outlet Mediazona, found that as Russian forces ground slowly forwards in the east, Moscow lost at least 27 lives for each kilometre of Ukrainian territory captured. However, experts believe this is an underestimate and the true death toll is much higher. Despite Russian losses being heavy, recruitment is increasing. My colleagues take a look at the large amounts of money offered to those signing up - in one area it's 34 times the average salary - and bring you the stories of three of those killed.

• War in maps: How control and the frontlines have shifted in three years of war.

• Poles prepare: After the election of Donald Trump, many in Poland fear they could be in Moscow's sights and are attending courses on what to do in the event of an armed attack.

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Syrian security forces monitored armed civilians who killed Alawites, accused man says

Abu Khalid told the BBC he had travelled as a civilian fighter to the Mediterranean coastal village of Sanobar to help battle former regime insurgents. Credit: BBC

A man who filmed himself shooting dead a 64-year-old villager at the entrance to his house during a wave of sectarian violence against Syria's Alawite minority two months ago, has told the BBC that he and other armed civilians were advised and monitored by government forces there. Most survivors in Sanobar are still too scared to speak openly but their stories, shared with the BBC privately, are often strikingly similar.