How Many Russian Troops Have Died Since the Ukraine War Began?

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that more than 12,000 Russian troops had been killed since Moscow launched the invasion on February 24, nearly two weeks ago.

The ministry made the announcement through its social media channels. The Foreign Ministry said 49 Russian aircraft, 81 helicopters, 317 tanks, 60 tankers and seven drones had also been taken out by its military.

As well as this, it said that the Russians had lost 1,070 armored vehicles, 120 artillery pieces, 56 multiple rocket launchers, 482 other vehicles, three boats and 28 anti-aircraft systems.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment on these numbers.

Ukrainian and Russian casualty estimates have varied widely. Russia has said it has killed around 2,000 Ukrainian troops and has not said anything about civilian deaths. Russia says that 498 of its own troops have been killed in the fighting.

Military analysts say Russia has been surprised by the strength of Ukrainian opposition its forces have encountered.

In an update on Wednesday, the United Nations human rights agency said that between February 24 and March 8, there were 1,424 civilian casualties in Ukraine—516 killed and 908 injured. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said it believed that the real figures were considerably higher, however.

On Wednesday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated a call for Kyiv's NATO allies to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying such a move would help avoid "a mass humanitarian catastrophe".

A no-fly zone would prohibit the use of military planes inside Ukrainian air space, but it would require a military intervention by NATO, of which Ukraine is not a member. Some NATO officials fear that imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine could end up as a nuclear escalation between the Trans-Atlantic alliance and Russia.

Although the U.S. and NATO have imposed three no-fly zones before over Libya, Iraq and Bosnia, unlike those three countries, Russia is a nuclear power.

While there is much public support for a no-fly zone in the United States, the Biden administration has ruled out imposing such a zone over Ukraine, as it could escalate the war.

Both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House spokesperson Jen Psaki ruled out imposing a no-fly zone and putting troops on the ground.

The United States on Tuesday rejected an offer by Poland to supply MiG-29 fighter jets for use by Ukraine's air force.

The European Union on Wednesday expanded sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus, adding 14 oligarchs and 146 members of the Russian Federation Council to its list, restricting the export of maritime navigation and radio communication technology to Russia, limiting the provision of SWIFT high-security banking services to several Belarus banks and stopping the Belarus central bank from managing its reserves in Europe.

The EU also made clear that crypto-assets are included in the scope of its sanctions.

The Ukrainian military is preparing for a major Russian attack on Odessa, the strategic and economically-important port city on the Black Sea.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters at a media briefing on Wednesday that Russia preferred to achieve its objective of neutralising Ukraine through talks instead of war.