Russia Loses Over 9,000 Troops to Capture Ukraine Wasteland

The ongoing battles along the eastern front in the war in Ukraine have cost Russia over 9,000 troops in a month, according to Ukrainian sources.

Moscow renewed its interest in the Donestk town of Avdiivka, located just 12 miles north of the Russian-controlled Donetsk city, in early October, pouring thousands of troops into the region in an effort to surround the town and the Ukrainian forces fortified inside. The offensive effort has also ignited heavy fighting in nearby eastern towns such as Marinka and Bakhmut, which fell to Russian control after months of brutal fighting in the spring.

Ukrainian and Western officials have estimated that Russia is suffering heavy losses in the fight for control of the Donetsk region. Last week, Ukrainian General Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on his Telegram channel that Moscow had lost nearly 8,690 personnel in November alone in battles along the eastern front. On Sunday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on X, formerly Twitter, that Russian casualties had increased by 90 percent in "recent assaults."

Towns like Avdiivka have been on the front lines between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow captured the Crimea Peninsula in 2014. Ukraine's MoD shared in a video to X on Sunday that after so many years of fighting, the town of Avdiivka is almost completely "empty of civilians," showing images of battered infrastructure and war-torn buildings.

Roughly 18 miles southwest in the town of Marinka, British intelligence describes the area as "comprehensively ruined," adding that Russia has made marginal advances through the ruins of the small city in recent weeks.

"With a pre-war population of 9000, it is comprehensively ruined," the U.K. Ministry of Defense wrote of Marinka in an update on the Ukraine war on Tuesday. "Drone footage suggests that the vast majority of buildings have been reduced to rubble."

U.K. intelligence added in the update that while Russia "now likely controls most of the built-up area" in Marinka, "Ukrainian forces remain in control of pockets of territory on the western edge of the town."

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an update to Facebook Tuesday that Kyiv's defenses "continue to restrain" Moscow's troops near the town of Marinka, adding that Russia carried out 13 attacks, including with "air support," on Ukraine's forces in the area over the past day.

Meanwhile, Ukraine reported that its forces repelled 23 attacks near the town of Avdivvka, where Russia "supported by aviation, unsuccessfully tried to break through the defense of our troops."

Newsweek reached out to Russia's Defense Ministry, as well as the Ukrainian MoD, for comment via email.