Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has said that Russia has lost more than half a million troops since the start of the war.
Russia has lost more than half a million troops since the start of its full-scale invasion, according to Ukraine’s latest figures, signaling the huge cost Vladimir Putin’s war is having on his own personnel.
In its latest update on Saturday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that Russian forces had lost 1,140 troops the previous day—the 12th day in a row that its estimate was more than 1,000.
The daily tally, which includes those who are both killed and injured, has been creeping up in recent months, especially as Russian momentum has been gathering in the Donetsk oblast, and two weeks into an offensive in the north-east of Kharkiv where Moscow’s troops have captured settlements by the border.
On May 12, the tally hit a record 1,740, beating the previous record from October 19, 2023, of 1,380 personnel. That previous record was also beaten three times in the last fortnight, with 1510 troop losses reported on May 14; 1,410 on May 16; and 1,400 on May 19.
