Russian forces in Ukraine have lost "five times more helicopters" than during Moscow's operations in Chechnya, Ukraine's military has said.
Russia lost 60 combat and transport helicopters in fighting in the Russian republic of Chechnya throughout the 1990s and early 2000s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to Ukrainian General Staff spokesperson, Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov.
According to Dutch open-source outlet, Oryx, Russia lost 24 helicopters in the First Chechen War, and 51 in the second phase of the conflict, which comes in at an apparently higher loss figure than that put forward by Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's General Staff said the Kremlin's fighters had lost 300 helicopters since February 24, 2022. The Ukrainian military then updated this figure to 301 on Thursday morning. Ukrainian forces recently destroyed a Russian Ka-52 combat scout-attack helicopter, Gromov said, one of Russia's most-prized helicopters.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
Oryx has visually confirmed that Russia has lost 90 helicopters since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. One has been captured, 10 have been damaged and 79 destroyed, per this tally. Ukraine has lost 31 helicopters, according to Oryx. However, the true losses for both sides are likely to be higher.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Thursday that Ukraine had lost 238 helicopters in the same time frame. Newsweek could not verify the reports from either side.
Moscow was embroiled in conflict in Chechnya, which moved towards independence as the USSR disintegrated. But after two bloody wars, the republic in Russia's southwest was brought firmly back under control.
Current Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and quickly volunteered Chechen fighters for Moscow's war effort in Ukraine. Kadyrov's forces have taken on a higher profile there as Wagner Group mercenaries pulled out of the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut.
This comes as Ukraine's long-anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces gets underway, with gains reported for Kyiv in parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
"Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations in at least three directions and made gains on June 14," the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said on Wednesday. This followed several days of reported advances along points of the front line.
Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said on Wednesday that Ukrainian fighters had advanced between 200 and 500 meters (220 and 550 yards) around Bakhmut, and between 300 and 350 meters (330 and 380 yards) in unspecified locations in the southern Zaporizhzhia region within the previous 24 hours.
Gromov, speaking on Thursday, said that in the past week, Ukraine had recaptured seven settlements in Zaporizhzhia, claiming back control of more than 103 square kilometers (40 square miles) of territory.
Russia has said Ukraine's counteroffensive began on June 4, ahead of the official confirmation of the start of this concerted push from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But experts say these initial gains are the first phase of the counteroffensive, with much remaining to be seen before a "decisive phase" in the coming weeks and months.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
