Ukrainian state media claims the country’s forces have now “terminated” over 80,000 Russians since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion, or “special military operation”, in February.
Some 810 of the alleged Russian casualties — claims of enemy losses by both parties in the conflict are near-impossible to fully verify, given the circumstances — were inflicted in the last day of the fighting, reported Ukrinform, citing a post on the official Facebook page of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
Ukrainian soldiers and volunteer fighters inspect a destroyed Russian tank in an undisclosed location, eastern Ukraine on November 10th, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)
All told, the Ukrainians claim to have “liquidated” 80,210 Russian personnel, 2,838 tanks, 5,730 armoured personnel carriers, 1,829 artillery systems, and hundreds of multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) and anti-aircraft warfare systems.
They also claim significant Russian air losses, including 278 aircraft, 261 helicopters, and over 1,500 aerial drones,
Russian tanks damaged in recent fighting are seen near the recently retaken village of Kamianka, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 30th, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
“Punch the Occupier! Together we will win! Our power is in the truth!” the Ukrainian military declared at the end of its Facebook post announcing the alleged Russian losses.
This photograph taken on October 7th, 2022 shows a destroyed Russian tank on a road near Izyum, eastern Ukraine. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK / AFP) (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
The Russians, for their part, have been more cautious in their claims of Ukrainian losses, largely avoiding putting a number of Ukrainian fatalities in favour of emphasising supposedly destroyed equipment exclusively.
Most recently, the country’s Ministry of Defence claimed to have destroyed 6,550 Ukrainian tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 886 MLRS vehicles, 3,574 field artillery guns and mortars, 333 aircraft, 175 helicopters, and 388 anti-aircraft missile systems, among others — figures close to and in some cases higher than those produced by the Ukrainians.
Pedestrians stand in front of a display of destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)