How Russia’s Military Losses Compare to Ukraine’s This Month

Ukraine is claiming that Russia lost 3,700 more troops than the 13,700 soldiers that Moscow says were lost by Kyiv in November.

As the Russia-Ukraine war on Tuesday neared its 21-month anniversary, officials from either side of the battlefield claimed that their opponents were suffering massive casualties. Newsweek has not independently verified any of the figures, which both sides may be inflating.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said during a meeting on Tuesday that Ukraine had lost a “colossal” 13,700 troops this month, according to a report from Russian-state media outlet RT. Shoigu also claimed that Ukraine had lost 1,800 units of tanks and “other heavy weaponry” during November.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Tuesday that Russia had lost a total of 319,820 troops since the war began on February 24, 2022, a figure that includes 17,400 Russian soldiers purportedly killed this month.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Ukraine had lost 90,000 troops since beginning its slow-moving counteroffensive in June.

Putin said that the death toll was “simply huge” and at “approximately one to eight as a ratio” to Russian deaths, suggesting that Moscow is placing its own losses at over 11,000 since the counteroffensive started.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Ukrainian and Russian defense ministries via email on Tuesday.

While accurate casualty figures are notoriously difficult to determine during any war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has undoubtedly taken a heavy toll on both sides.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense said last month that Russia had “likely” suffered up to 290,000 casualties during the war, including troops “temporarily wounded” but not including any casualties suffered by the private Wagner Group mercenary organization.

A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment leaked in April estimated that Ukraine had suffered 124,500 to 131,000 casualties, including 15,500 to 17,500 dead and 109,000 to 113,500 wounded.

Last week, Ukraine claimed that Russia suffered one of its worst-ever days during the war, losing 1,330 military personnel during a 24-hour period. Less than one month earlier, on October 19, Kyiv said that 1,380 Russian troops were killed in a single day.

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported on Tuesday that the Ukrainian civilian death toll exceeded 10,000, including over 560 children. Another 18,500 civilians were reportedly injured since the war began.

“Ten thousand civilian deaths is a grim milestone for Ukraine,” said Danielle Bell, head of the monitoring mission. “The Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine, now entering into its 21st month, risks evolving into a protracted conflict, with the severe human cost being painful to fathom.”

“Nearly half of civilian casualties in the last three months have occurred far away from the frontlines,” she added. “As a result, no place in Ukraine is completely safe.”