Ukraine claims Russian war losses now at more than 50,000 soldiers
- There was no independent confirmation of the figures, and Russia has not given any information on its casualties for a long time
- Kyiv’s claim came as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was shown in a tense encounter with chief of staff at war games
The Russian army has lost more than 50,000 soldiers in more than six months of war in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian figures.
With the invasion now 195 days old, 50,150 Russian soldiers have been killed, the Ukrainian general staff announced via Facebook on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian army claims to have already destroyed 2,077 tanks, 4,484 armoured vehicles, 236 aircraft and 207 helicopters.
There is no independent confirmation of the figures.
The British Ministry of Defence, on the other hand, estimates that only about 25,000 Russian soldiers have been killed.
Russia itself has not given any information on its own casualties for a long time.
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Last Friday, the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk put their losses since the start of the invasion at just more than 2,900 dead. In contrast, according to the rarely released Kyiv figures on their own losses, there were about 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed and 7,000 missing, they said.
Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February and has since taken control of large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
The United Nations has so far registered more than 5,700 civilians killed, but, like Kyiv, assumes a much higher number of civilian casualties.
The Donetsk separatists last quoted a figure of around 870 civilian deaths in their area.
The British Ministry of Defence also said that a shortage of reconnaissance drones is increasingly complicating the operations of Russia’s troops in Ukraine.
“In the face of combat losses, it is likely that Russia is struggling to maintain stocks of UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles, or drones], exacerbated by component shortages resulting from international sanctions,” it wrote on Twitter on Tuesday in its daily update on the Ukraine war.
Ukraine’s claim of Russia’s war losses came as Russian President Vladimir Putin was shown in an awkward encounter with his military chief of staff at war games in Russia’s Far East.
The Zvezda military news service published video of Putin and chief of staff General Valery Gerasimov entering an observation booth, sitting down with a wide space between them and maintaining an uncomfortable silence while waiting for Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to arrive.
Gerasimov stroked his hair and shuffled papers and Putin picked up and peered through a pair of binoculars, at one point acknowledging a comment from the general by nodding tersely.
The awkward body language drew scrutiny from political and military analysts on social media.
“Putin obviously doesn’t even want to talk with the commander of the Russian armed forces,” wrote former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt on Twitter.
In a separate clip, the mood appeared lighter as Putin and Shoigu were shown exchanging a joke while Gerasimov spoke on the phone.
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Vladimir Putin oversees multinational military drills in Russia’s far east
Gerasimov has been almost absent from public view during Russia’s war in Ukraine, prompting speculation about his standing with Putin and even at times about his health.
Having captured about a fifth of the country, Russia has been fought to a virtual standstill while suffering heavy losses in troops and equipment.
By proceeding with the four-yearly Vostok war games, Putin appeared to be sending a signal that Russia’s military is able to conduct business as usual despite the demands of the war.
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But the defence ministry says the exercises that began on September 1 involve only 50,000 troops, a fraction of the 300,000 they said took part in 2018. Western military analysts say they believe both figures are exaggerated.
The manoeuvres have included forces from both India and China, though it was not clear if Putin had seen troops from those countries in action.
Moscow says the war games also involve military contingents and observers from Algeria, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Syria and six former Soviet republics.
Additional reporting by Reuters
