Russia has lost more than 350,000 troops in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched by President Vladimir Putin nearly 22 months ago, according to figures released by Kyiv's military.
As part of its daily update on the war, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces posts figures on Russia's troop and equipment losses. Moscow lost 1,080 soldiers over the past 24 hours, according to the military's Thursday casualty toll of Russian troops—bringing the total to 350,270.
Russia's troop losses have risen exponentially amid an intensifying battle to seize the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka.
Newsweek couldn't independently verify Kyiv's figures and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Estimates of casualty numbers vary, with Ukraine's figures usually exceeding those of its Western allies. Russia rarely divulges information on the number of casualties it has sustained in the war. In September 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said 5,937 troops had been killed since the war began.
A joint investigation by the BBC's Russian Service and independent Russian news outlet Mediazona on December 19 identified the names of 39,424 Russian military personnel who have died in the war in Ukraine. It said that the actual number of losses was higher than the figures stated in the investigation.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's Tavriisk group of forces spokesperson Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun said Russia lost some 25,000 troops fighting in the Donetsk region in the past two months, and that 80 percent of these losses have occurred around Avdiivka, which has been described as the gateway to the city of Donetsk.
Russia has poured thousands of troops, tanks and armored vehicles into the area since October 10.
"If we count from October 10, when the enemy became more active, in some places he advanced by one and a half to two kilometers," Shtupun said on national television. "But it cost them dearly. In a little more than two months[...]the enemy lost almost 25,000 men, dead and wounded, about 200 tanks, and over 400 armored vehicles in the Tavria (Tavriisk) group's area of responsibility in Donetsk Oblast."
Kyiv similarly does not provide information on its war casualties. A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment leaked in April said that Ukraine had suffered 124,500 to 131,000 casualties, including 15,500 to 17,500 dead.
Shoigu said on Tuesday that Ukraine has lost more than 383,000 troops since the war began. Newsweek could not independently verify the figures.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
