NewsStaggering losses for Russia in Ukraine. 450,000 Soldiers wounded or killed

Staggering losses for Russia in Ukraine. 450,000 Soldiers wounded or killed

Military cemetery in Saint Petersburg
Military cemetery in Saint Petersburg
Images source: © Getty Images | SOPA Images

7:42 AM EDT, April 28, 2024

Since the onset of the invasion of Ukraine, it is estimated that approximately 450,000 Russian military personnel have either been killed or wounded. Furthermore, Putin's forces have lost over 10,000 armored vehicles, including more than 3,000 tanks, as reported by Leo Docherty, the British Minister for the Armed Forces, and cited by the military service UK Defence Journal.

This information was disclosed in response to questions about Russian losses in the Ukraine conflict, posed to Minister Docherty by MP John Healey, the Labour Party's shadow defense secretary.

Docherty stated, "We estimate that approximately 450,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already deserted since the start of the conflict. The number of personnel killed serving in Russian private military companies is not clear."

He continued, "We also estimate that over 10,000 Russian armoured vehicles, including nearly 3,000 main battle tanks, 109 fixed wing aircraft, 136 helicopters, 346 unmanned aerial vehicles, 23 naval vessels of all classes, and over 1,500 artillery systems of all types have been destroyed, abandoned, or captured by Ukraine since the start of the conflict."

The UK Defence Journal has directly quoted the correspondence between Healey and Docherty.

Recent estimations by the BBC and Mediazona

Independent Russian service Mediazona and the BBC's Russian section have reported that at least 51,679 soldiers from Putin's army have died in Ukraine so far. These figures are based on publicly available sources, such as social media posts from family members, local media articles, and regional government announcements.

Moreover, analyzing the estimated excess mortality among men derived from the probate registry database, Mediazona, and the BBC have assessed that the total number of Russian military personnel fatalities could be around 85,000.

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