Russia Suffers Highest Daily Casualties of War So Far: Kyiv

Russia lost 1,740 troops in a single day, marking the highest number of daily Russian casualties since the start of the war more than two years ago, Ukraine's military said on Monday.

Moscow's troops have sustained around 484,030 casualties since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to statistics published by Kyiv's armed forces.

In an update posted to social media, Ukraine's military also said Russian forces had lost more than 30 tanks and 42 armored vehicles in the previous 24 hours.

Casualty counts and equipment losses are notoriously difficult to pin down, and experts caution that both sides likely inflate the other's reported losses. But the figures do offer some indication of the scale of the war's impact, deep into its third year and as Russia launches a new offensive in northeastern Ukraine.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

The U.K. Defense Ministry estimated earlier this month that total Russian casualties likely stands at more than 465,000. French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné told Latvia-based Novaya Gazeta Europe in an interview published on May 3 that Paris put total Russian casualties at around 500,000, with around 150,000 fighters killed.

A Ukraine army soldier walks in the town of Schastia, near the eastern Ukraine city of Luhansk, on February 22, 2022. Russia lost 1,740 troops in a single day, marking the highest number of daily... A Ukraine army soldier walks in the town of Schastia, near the eastern Ukraine city of Luhansk, on February 22, 2022. Russia lost 1,740 troops in a single day, marking the highest number of daily Russian casualties since the start of the war more than two years ago, Ukraine's military said on Monday. More ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images

The BBC's Russian service and Russian independent outlet Mediazona reported in mid-April that at least 50,000 Russian soldiers had been confirmed dead.

Moscow has not nodded to its own losses since September 2022, when Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said just under 6,000 Russian fighters had been killed.

Ukraine has also suffered heavy losses, and rarely offers updates on the toll of fending off Russian assaults. In late February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 31,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed in two years of war. Russia has said Ukraine's death toll is much higher, saying Kyiv lost 215,000 soldiers in 2023 alone.

Ukraine's tally of Russian losses often spikes during drawn-out or fierce battles for key settlements, such as fighting for the Donetsk cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine.

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After Russia captured Avdiivka, a former Ukrainian stronghold to the northwest of Donetsk City, reported Russian losses dropped. Moscow's casualties will likely increase over the next two months, the British government said earlier this month, as Russia pours resources into fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The bulk of Moscow's efforts in recent months have focused on the east of the country, but on Friday, Ukraine said Russia had launched a new push on northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region.

Kyiv said it was sending more resources to the border region. On Saturday, Russia's Defense Ministry said it had claimed a series of villages on the border. Ukrainian officials have said Russian shelling is focused on the border city of Vovchansk, and that around 6,000 Kharkiv region residents have been evacuated.

The northern border of the Kharkiv region is the "most difficult" area of fighting, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Sunday.

Update 5/13/24, 3:25 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.