In a rare update on casualty and prisoner-of-war figures, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed international journalists on Wednesday, claiming that Ukraine's losses in the ongoing conflict are several times greater than those of Moscow. This assertion, however, comes without any evidence to support it, raising questions about the accuracy and motivation behind such claims.
During a meeting with heads of international news agencies in St. Petersburg, Putin reported that there are currently 1,348 Russian soldiers and officers held captive in Ukraine, while 6,465 Ukrainians are detained in Russia. He further asserted that the ratio of "irretrievable losses" stands at five to one, favoring Russia. "I can tell you that our losses, particularly irretrievable losses, are certainly significantly smaller than those of the opposite party," he stated, as reported by the state-run Tass news agency.
These claims starkly contrast with estimates from both Ukrainian and U.S. military sources, which have consistently indicated that Russia has incurred far greater casualties. As of Thursday, Ukraine's military claimed to have "eliminated" 515,000 Russian troops since the invasion began in February 2022. Furthermore, Kyiv reported the destruction of over 7,800 tanks, 13,400 artillery pieces, 831 air defense systems, 357 aircraft, and 326 helicopters.
Neither side has released detailed casualty figures. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged in February that around 31,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed in action, without providing figures for the wounded. A report by the New York Times in August 2023 cited U.S. officials estimating the Ukrainian death toll at close to 70,000. Meanwhile, American estimates from December indicated that the number of Russian killed and wounded was approximately 315,000—nearly 90 percent of the soldiers involved in the initial invasion.
A BBC-Mediazona investigation published in April confirmed the deaths of at least 50,000 Russian soldiers, utilizing official reports, open-source information, and social media posts. This figure, though much lower than the actual total, is still eight times greater than the nearly 6,000 troops acknowledged by Russia's Defense Ministry in September 2022, which remains the only detailed figure provided by Russian authorities since the conflict began.
Furthermore, the BBC and Mediazona noted that over 27,300 Russian soldiers died in the second year of the operation, hinting at what they referred to as a "meat grinder" strategy, synonymous with Moscow's major offensive operations along the front lines. As the conflict continues, the discrepancies in reported casualties raise significant concerns about transparency and the narratives being presented to both domestic and international audiences.
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