Moscow’s forces continue to suffer huge losses in their invasion of Ukraine, with Kyiv claiming on Tuesday that the number of Russians killed over the preceding 24 hours had again exceeded four figures.
In an update, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that 1,060 Russian personnel had been killed the previous day, taking Moscow’s total losses since the start of the invasion to 154,830.
In February, Ukraine started to regularly report a daily Russian death toll of over 1,000. Western estimates of Russian troop losses are far lower and Moscow has not updated its number of deaths since the end of September 2022 when it said 5,937 troops had been killed.
A database compiled by independent outlet Mediazona and the BBC’s Russian service has confirmed more than 15,000 fatalities, although the project said at least twice as many had probably been killed.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said last month there had been approximately 60,000 to 70,000 Russian combat fatalities between February 2022 and February 2023.
These included deaths of regular Russian soldiers as well as personnel of Russia’s national guard Rosgvardiya, Federal Security Service and Federal Guard Service. Fighters from pro-Russian militias, such as the Donetsk People’s Militia and Luhansk People’s Militia, as well as contractors from private military companies such as the Wagner Group are also included.
The CSIS noted that the Russian rate of attrition is much higher in Ukraine than in any Soviet or Russian war since World War II. It added that there were up to 250,000 Russian casualties, including those wounded, killed and missing.
The figures have not been independently verified but they come amid reports of very substantial Russian losses in both personnel and equipment, especially as the bitter battle for the Donetsk city of Bakhmut continues to rage.
Both sides are reportedly suffering heavy casualties, but one NATO military official told CNN that Russia was paying a particularly high price, losing five soldiers for every one that Ukraine loses.
British defense officials said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had “likely stabilized” their defensive perimeter in the city, which Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said Kyiv would continue to hold.
His insistence that Bakhmut was still a focus for his forces followed reports that Kyiv might retreat from the city, whose value has been described by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as “symbolic” rather than “strategic.”
Ukrainian armed forces said that they had repelled 37 Russian attacks in the area around the city overnight. Kyiv also said it had carried out 15 airstrikes on Russian targets, including hitting an anti-aircraft system and downing an SU-25 aircraft and 17 drones.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Moscow’s forces continue to suffer huge losses in their invasion of Ukraine, with Kyiv claiming on Tuesday that the number of Russians killed over the preceding 24 hours had again exceeded four figures.
