Russia Loses 3,010 Troops, 32 Tanks and 15 Missiles in Three Days

The Russian military lost 3,010 soldiers, 21 tanks and used 15 missiles between December 7 and 9, according to figures released by Ukrainian authorities.

This data was posted on Facebook in three separate daily updates by the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ending each post with a vow to "beat the occupier!" The general staff reported on December 7 that the Russians suffered 1,120 casualties over the past 24 hours, after 990 on December 8 and 900 on December 9. The figures aren't broken down between killed and injured or by where the fighting took place.

Over the past few weeks, Russian troops have launched a major offensive targeted at Avdiivka, a town in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region that Moscow also claims as its territory. It followed a major Ukrainian counterattack during the summer and autumn. Kyiv regained some territory, but failed in its larger objective to punch through to the Black Sea, severing Russia's land bridge to Crimea, which President Putin annexed in 2014.

Details of the Russian losses recorded by Ukraine haven't been independently verified by Newsweek, and Russia rarely releases details about its casualties. Newsweek contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense by email for comment on Saturday.

On December 7, the Ukrainians say they destroyed 18 Russian tanks, followed by eight on the 8th and six on the 9th. One Russian missile launch was reported on December 7, followed by 14 two days later, to give a total of 15.

Kyiv also said it took out 26 armored combat vehicles and 21 artillery systems on December 7, followed by another 26 and 12 respectively the following day, then an additional 11 vehicles and one system in its report published on Saturday.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, said that, if Ukrainian reports of Russian casualty figures are correct, Moscow may be losing more men than it is managing to mobilize.

In its most-recent update, published on December 7, the institute said: "Russian and Ukrainian officials have reported that Russian crypto-mobilization efforts produce roughly 20,000 to 40,000 personnel a month, a rate that could be lower than Russia's current casualty rate in Ukraine.

"Ukrainian officials reported in spring and summer 2023 that Russia recruits roughly 20,000 personnel through crypto-mobilization efforts per month," the ISW added.

"Ukrainian officials have reported that the Russian force grouping along the Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast front has roughly not changed since summer 2023, suggesting that the commitment of new personnel to the area is offsetting Russian losses but not increasing the strength of that grouping."

However, in a blow to Ukraine, a report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy showed an 87 percent drop in new foreign-aid packages to Kyiv between August and October, compared to the same period in 2022.

Congress is deadlocked over legislation that would provide another $106 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the U.S.-Mexico border. House Republicans say they will support it, only in exchange for tougher border-control policies.

In a letter sent to the Democrat and Republican leaders in the House and Senate, Shalanda Young, director of the United States Office of Management and Budget, said that the U.S. will run out of resources to support Ukraine by the end of 2023 without additional Congressional funding.

Young wrote: "I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks. There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money—and nearly out of time."