The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday offered its first official estimate of casualties suffered in the attack on Ukraine, claiming 498 Russian troops have been …
The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday offered its first official estimate of casualties suffered in the attack on Ukraine, claiming 498 Russian troops have been killed and 1,597 injured. The Ukrainian government claims the number of Russian casualties is many times higher, up to 9,000 in total. Until Wednesday’s briefing by Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, Russia’s official statements focused entirely on the number of Ukrainian positions captured by Russian troops, with only vague mentions of casualties. On Wednesday, Konashenkov claimed 498 Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion began last week – versus 2,870 Ukrainian troops killed,3,700 injured, and 572 captured. He dismissed reports of much higher Russian casualties as “deliberate disinformation.” Even if Konashenkov’s figures are low, they would still represent the largest number of casualties suffered in any Russian military operation since the 1999 war in Chechnya.
