Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it estimated Vladimir Putin’s invasion forces had lost more than 300,000 soldiers in 615 days of war, and Kyiv marked the milestone with a quote from former US President Lyndon B. Johnson.

A Russian soldier at the front in the Luhansk region of UkrainePhoto: Stanislav Krasilnikov / Sputnik / Profimedia

“Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and must be taken one step at a time,” said a message accompanying Tuesday’s Russian casualty assessment, a quote from the 36th US president’s speech to the United Nations a month after the assassination of John F. Kennedy In the same speech, Johnson said that “the United States of America wants to see the end of the Cold War” and “I want health, safety and peace for all, and above all else.”

“Ukrainians have already taken more than 300,000 steps to victory!” Message from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Twitter.

According to the latest Ukrainian estimates, the Russian army has currently lost:

  • 300,810 fighters were “eliminated” (+870 in the last day)
  • 5211 tanks (+21)
  • 9804 other battle tanks (+29)
  • 7227 artillery pieces (+25)
  • 844 Multiple rocket launchers (+10)
  • 562 anti-aircraft systems (+3)
  • 5440 drones (+21)
  • 321 fighters
  • 324 helicopters
  • 20 warships
  • 1 submarine
  • 9590 different cars and tanks (+35)
  • 1016 special equipment (+2)

On October 22, Britain’s Ministry of Defense, which publishes a daily assessment of various aspects of the war launched by Moscow last February, said Russian military casualties were approaching 300,000, but that figure included both those killed in action and wounded. .

What the British said about Putin’s military losses:

  • The recent Russian attacks in Avdiivka contributed to a 90% increase in the number of Russian casualties, recorded by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
  • Since February 2022, Russia has significantly increased its military presence in Ukraine through increased recruitment through financial incentives and a partial mobilization conducted in the fall of 2022.
  • This increase in personnel is a major factor that determines Russia’s ability to both defend its territory and launch costly attacks.
  • Since the beginning of the conflict, Russia has probably suffered 150,000-190,000 permanent casualties (killed and permanently wounded), and the total number of temporarily wounded (recovered and due to return to the battlefield) is about 240,000-290,000.
  • This figure does not include the Wagner Group or their POW battalions who fought in Bakhmut.

Zelensky: “Russia’s losses are really impressive”

Also this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited the south of Kherson region, where he discussed the situation there and around the cities of Avdiyivka and Kupyansk with high-ranking military commanders.

Russian troops have recently intensified their attacks on these fronts, where the center of gravity of hostilities seems to have shifted with the approach of the cold season.

“Regarding the situation in Kherson and in the region, in the south in general, as well as in the Donetsk region, first of all in Avdiivka, I am grateful to all our guys who hold the line and destroy the occupier day by day. These days, Russian losses are really impressive, and it is precisely such losses that Ukraine needs,” Zelensky told his compatriots.