Russia-Ukraine war: How many personnel, tanks has Moscow lost? How does it compare to Kyiv?

As the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, the number of deaths and losses of equipment continue to pile up. Now, a new report from the UK ministry of defence estimates that Moscow has lost a truly staggering number of troops and battle tanks since its war with Kyiv began. But what has Russia lost exactly? And how is Ukraine doing? Let’s take a closer look: Russian losses pile up The Eurasian Times reported that ministry estimates that the war has cost Russia 400,000 troops. The ministry, replying to a query in UK Parliament, pegged Russia’s troop losses at 300,000 plus another 100,000 from contractors like the Wagner Group. The Independent quoted James Heappey, minister of state for the armed forces, as saying, “We estimate that approximately 302,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already deserted since the start of the conflict." “The number of personnel killed serving in Russian PMCs is not clear,” he added. “Russia have utilised several PMCs and volunteer units in Ukraine to augment Russian military forces, but the deaths of personnel from these organisations are not reflected in Russian official military death tolls.”

Moscow has also lost around 2,400 main battle tanks.

That works out to approximately 15 per cent of its pre-war inventory. Most of these tanks are newer variants. “A greater proportion of the losses will be from the more advanced T-90s, T-80s, and T-72s, with a significant amount of backfilling or regeneration of armored capability being done through the use of bringing back into service legacy equipment,” the Army Technology report said. Russia has thus far lost “over 7,117 armoured vehicles” (including the tanks) as well as 1,300 artillery systems. [caption id=“attachment_13417792” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Russian servicemen drive a T-14 Armata tank. Reuters.[/caption] Another 93 fixed-wing aircraft, 132 helicopters, 320 uncrewed aerial vehicles, and 16 naval vessels have been destroyed in the conflict. “We also estimate that over 7,117 Russian armoured vehicles, including nearly 2,475 main battle tanks, 93 fixed wing aircraft, 132 helicopters, 320 unmanned aerial vehicles, 16 naval vessels of all classes, and over 1,300 artillery systems of all types have been destroyed since the start of the conflict,” Heappey added. But Kyiv says Moscow’s losses are far steeper. As per The Independent, Kyiv claims Moscow has lost 313,470 military personnel in the conflict thus far. It claims Russia lost 5,388 tanks, 10,171 armoured personnel carriers, more than 8,500 artillery and guided rocket systems, as per Eurasian Times. It also says it has relieved Moscow of 650 fixed- and rotary-wing platforms and over 5,600 Unmanned Arial Vehicles since the war began. As per Business Insider, fighting in the southeastern city of Avdiivka has increased the Russian number of troops being killed or injured by 90 per cent. The UK ministry of defence pointed to Avdiivka as a “major offensive effort” by Moscow and added that Russia’s troops in the city and said that Moscow’s troops in the city “likely suffered some of Russia’s highest casualty rates of 2023 so far.”

As per A_rmy-Technology.com,_ Russia is losing hundreds of troops per day in the city.

However, anyone hoping that the Kremlin will take notice and perhaps halt the war is mistaken. The New York Times quoted Russia experts as saying Putin is unlikely to be daunted by the ever-increasing casualties. Army-Technology.com quoted experts as saying that the conflict has set Russia’s forces back by three decades in terms of personnel and equipment.  What about Ukraine? Newsweek quoted Russia’s Sergei Shoigu as claiming that Kyiv lost 13,700 troops this month alone. The defence minister also claimed that Ukraine lost 1,800 units of tanks and “other heavy weaponry” this month. The New York Times quoted US officials in August as pegging Ukrainian troop deaths at 70,000 since the war began.

Another 100,000 to 120,000 have been injured.

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A senior Ukrainian sergeant in Donetsk told BBC in August that young troops are dying “by the dozens” daily. Newsweek quoted a US Defence Intelligence Agency assessment as saying that Kyiv lost 124,500 to 131,000 troops in battle overall. [caption id=“attachment_13417802” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Young troops are dying “by the dozens” daily in Donetsk. Reuters[/caption] These included 15,500 to 17,500 dead and 109,000 to 113,500 wounded. It is important to note that these are estimates as neither side has officially confirmed their losses since the war began. ‘No place in Ukraine safe’ The website quoted the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine as saying the civilian toll had crossed 10,000 including over 550 children. Another 18,500 civilians have been wounded since the start of the conflict. “Ten thousand civilian deaths is a grim milestone for Ukraine,” said Danielle Bell, head of the monitoring mission. “The Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine, now entering into its 21st month, risks evolving into a protracted conflict, with the severe human cost being painful to fathom.” “Nearly half of civilian casualties in the last three months have occurred far away from the frontlines,” she added. “As a result, no place in Ukraine is completely safe.” With inputs from agencies