Shortly after he learned of the failure of Menshikov's diplomacy toward the end of June <answer>1853</answer>, the Tsar sent armies under the commands of Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich and General Mikhail Gorchakov across the Pruth River into the Ottoman-controlled Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Fewer than half of the 80,000 Russian soldiers who crossed the Pruth in <answer>1853</answer> survived. By far, most of the deaths would result from sickness rather than combat,:118–119 for the Russian army still suffered from medical services that ranged from bad to none.
In what year did Russian soldiers cross the Pruth River?
1853