AFP
KEY POINTS
- Russia lost 3,240 personnel in Ukraine between Sunday and Thursday
- Around 168,150 Russian casualties have been recorded in the war
- Russia has also lost thousands of pieces of equipment, such as tanks
A total of 3,240 Russian casualties were recorded in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine over the past four days, data provided by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) showed.
About 660 new Russian combat losses were announced by the AFU’s General Staff in its latest casualty report released Thursday.
The military staff reported 920, 960 and 700 Russian casualties Wednesday, Tuesday and Monday, respectively.
In total, Russia has lost 168,150 personnel in Ukraine since it began its full-scale invasion more than a year ago, according to the latest figures provided by the Ukrainian military.
Russia also lost within the same period 3,570 tanks, 6,898 armored fighting vehicles and 2,608 artillery systems, among other pieces of military equipment.
Amid its reported losses, Russia has made gains of up to several kilometers in some areas in Ukraine, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a Thursday intelligence briefing.
Russia’s intent in the north-east front is still likely defensive in nature, with Russian commanders probably fearing this sector as a potential staging ground for major Ukrainian offensive operations, according to the British MoD.
White House National Security Council adviser John Kirby stated Tuesday that Russian forces will try to start another offensive, possibly even on multiple different axes, in the coming weeks.
However, the Institute for the Study of War believes Russian forces could not conduct their own large-scale, simultaneous offensive campaigns on multiple axes, the United States-based think tank said in a statement released Thursday.
Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, or the GUR, supported this assessment.
Russian forces failed to achieve expected quick or significant advances during their recent offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region that started earlier this year, Skibitsky said.
At the same time, Ukrainian forces were able to pin down their Russian opponents in multiple areas of the front line, the Ukrainian official added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry is planning to recruit 400,000 contract soldiers this year to replenish its forces, with the campaign expected to launch on April 1, Radio Svoboda, the Russian service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio, reported.
