Russian losses of military personnel have hit their second-highest three-day levels since the reignition of its conflict with neighboring Ukraine in 2022.
Moscow lost 1,500, 1,330, and 1,400 troops on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday respectively, according to figures sourced from Ukraine’s armed forces.
These latest figures, if accurate, would bring Russia’s estimated total losses since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine to 645,150 personnel.
A Russian serviceman patrols a destroyed residential area in the city of Severodonetsk on July 12, 2022, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. Russian losses of military personnel have hit their highest three-day levels since the reignition of its conflict with neighboring Ukraine.
Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images
On Tuesday, Kyiv said the Russian military lost 1,400 troops, 16 tanks, and 61 artillery systems in the space of 24 hours.
The report, posted to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense page on X (formerly Twitter), also claimed Moscow lost 140 vehicles, 65 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), three air defense systems, and 10 pieces of “special equipment.”
Russia does not officially publish its military losses, and military analysts are skeptical of reports released by both sides.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment via email.
Alongside the ministry’s post early Tuesday was a quote from Hungarian-American physicist Edward Teller which read: “The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.”
These latest updates follow reports that Russian losses of artillery systems and prized equipment hit record highs in July and August, based on Ukrainian figures. In July, Russia lost 1,520 artillery systems and 1,517 in August.
These months also saw some of the highest losses of Russian military personnel so far, with 35,680 in July and 36,810 in August.
Newsweek has previously visualized Russian personnel, tank, and artillery losses in 2024 as of September 18, according to figures published by Ukrainian authorities.
May was Russia’s worst month for tank losses so far this year, with 428 destroyed. It was the second deadliest month in the war for Russian tank crews, following October 2023 with 521.
Subsequent months saw 359 losses in June, 300 in July, and 193 in August.
Separately, recently published satellite photos revealed extensive damage to Russian ammunition depots during a September Ukrainian drone strike inside Russia.
Satellite photos provided by Maxar Technologies appeared to show before and after shots of three sites, one of which included an almost 82-meter-wide crater at the Oktyabrsky depot. This, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) member who posted the imagery, was a storage unit and military bunker.
The Institute for the Study of War expert also claimed that the pictures showed what he believed were likely missile cannisters.
The site where the crater is located is also thought to be the location of train rail cars that the expert predicted were used to transport ammunition to other depots.
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