Russia Loses 250 Soldiers, Several Tanks And AFVs In 1 Day

A girl stands on a destroyed Russian tank in the village of Dmytivka, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv region, Ukraine May 20, 2022.
Reuters / MARIUS BOSCH

KEY POINTS

Ukraine’s military recorded 250 combat losses among Russia’s personnel between Saturday and Sunday
Russian losses that day also included three tanks, three AFVs and five artillery systems, among other pieces of military equipment
Most of the newly recorded losses came from the direction of Ukraine’s partially-occupied Donetsk region

Russia lost 250 soldiers and several military vehicles in one day, data provided by the Ukrainian military revealed.

Russia suffered 46,750 combat losses among its personnel between the start of its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 and Sunday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its most recent casualty report.

Russian losses reportedly also included 1,942 tanks, 4,257 armored fighting vehicles (AFV) and 1,050 artillery systems, among other pieces of military equipment.

In its previous casualty report released Saturday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ general staff said Russian losses numbered 46,500 for personnel, 1,939 for tanks, 4,254 for AFVs and 1,045 for artillery systems.

Most of Russia’s newly recorded losses reportedly came from the direction of Ukraine’s partially-occupied Donetsk region.

The Russian government last provided an official death toll from the invasion of Ukraine back in March, claiming that fatalities at the time numbered 1,351.

Independent Russian media outlet Mediazona reported that it has been able to confirm 5,801 Russian military deaths in the war as of Thursday.

The ongoing conflict may have caused Russia to already suffer between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties, according to U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl.

Meanwhile, around 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in the first 100 days of the invasion, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, claimed in June.

Between 100 and 200 Ukrainian troops were dying on the front line every day at the time, Mykhaylo Podolyak, another presidential aide, revealed later that month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Thursday to increase the size of Russia’s armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million. This includes a boost of 137,000 for combat personnel, bringing up the total to 1.15 million.

It is unclear if the increased allocation will be filled by contract soldiers or conscripts, which reportedly make up a fourth of all soldiers in Russia’s armed forces.

Putin’s decree comes as Russian authorities allegedly launched a recruitment drive for the Russian army in response to the losses sustained in Ukraine, offering potential recruits up to $5,700 a month and plots of land, among other benefits.

Recruiters reportedly also visited Russian prisons to sign up inmates with promises of freedom and money.

Putin’s decree “is unlikely to make substantive progress towards increasing Russia’s combat power in Ukraine” under current legislation, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence said in a recent intelligence update.

“This is because Russia has lost tens of thousands of troops; very few new contract servicemen are being recruited; and conscripts are technically not obliged to serve outside of Russian territory,” the MoD said.