Russia announces Ukraine casualties in a year of war

Nga công bố thương vong của Ukraine trong một năm chiến sự - 1 — Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery in Donetsk (Photo: Reuters).

"Russian military groups are undermining the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces. Over the past year, enemy losses have amounted to more than 215,000 servicemen and 28,000 weapons systems. We maintain the strategic initiative along the entire front line," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with Russian military leaders on January 9.

Summarizing the situation on the front, the Russian Defense Minister pointed out signs that the Ukrainian army is running out of manpower and is not achieving any of its goals on the battlefield.

Referring to the Russian defense industry's efforts to supply weapons and equipment to the military, Shoigu confirmed that these efforts include a focus on all types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

"We will increase the supply of the most popular types (of UAVs). In particular, we will produce a range of drones from small to heavy attack types," Shoigu added.

Regarding the issue of global strategic stability, Minister Shoigu reiterated that Russia maintains the combat readiness of its nuclear triad at a high level to ensure global strategic balance.

Russia will continue to upgrade its equipment, including using new artificial intelligence (AI) technology and weapons based on new physical principles, Shoigu said.

The Russian Defense Ministry also plans this year to upgrade communications, reconnaissance, target designation, anti-artillery warfare, air defense and satellite systems.

Earlier, at an expanded meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry on December 19, 2023, Minister Shoigu said that more than 383,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and wounded since the start of the conflict.

Minister Shoigu added that since Russia began its military campaign in February 2022, Ukraine has lost 14,000 tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, 553 combat aircraft and 259 helicopters, 8,500 field guns and multiple launch rocket systems.

Meanwhile, Russia rarely discloses information about its casualties in Ukraine. In September 2022, the Russian defense minister said 5,937 soldiers had been killed since the fighting began.

US officials also cautiously said that the number of casualties in the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still very difficult to predict because neither side has released official figures.

In August last year, the New York Times, citing informed sources, said that more than 120,000 Russian soldiers were killed and about 180,000 were wounded. On the Ukrainian side, the figure was 70,000 killed and 100,000 wounded.

A joint investigation by the BBC and Mediazona published on 19 December 2023 identified the names of 39,424 Russian servicemen killed in Ukraine. They said the actual toll was higher than the number reported in the investigation.

Meanwhile, Reuters on December 12, 2023 cited a declassified US intelligence report saying that 315,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since the start of the conflict.

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