Russia Loses 560 Troops, 4 Tanks, 30 Artillery Systems in a Day–Kyiv

Ukraine's armed forces have claimed another day of significant losses for the Russian military, as Kyiv's troops continue their multi-pronged counteroffensive operation in the south and east of the country and seek a decisive breakthrough of enemy defensive lines.

The Ukrainian military's Friday update reported another 560 Russian soldiers lost, for a total of 244,830 claimed since Moscow's full-scale invasion of the country began on February 24, 2022.

Among other Russian losses reported by Kyiv from the past 24 hours of combat were four tanks (for a total of 4,190), 14 armored combat vehicles (for a total of 8,161), 30 artillery systems (for a total of 4,775), one anti-aircraft platform (for a total of 458) and 11 UAVs (for a total of 4,007).

Andriy Zagorodnyuk, who served as Ukraine's defense minister from 2019 to 2020 and now advises the country's defense ministry, told Newsweek that regardless of high Russian losses, Moscow still has reserves to respond to fresh Ukrainian drives.

"The Russians do have reserves, they always have reserves," Zagorodnyuk explained. "No army can have no reserves, this is not possible. They must have reserves. This is according to their doctrine."

"The question is about the quality of those reserves, the quantity also but particularly the quality," Zagorodnyuk added. "I don't think they're high, as such...However, we cannot underestimate them."

Neither Ukraine nor Russia releases up to date casualty figures, with Kyiv's Western partners also hesitant to shed light on Ukrainian losses for fear of undermining continued public support for its existential conflict.

Documents released in the Pentagon leaks earlier this year suggested 189,500 to 223,000 Russian casualties as of February, including up to 43,000 killed in action. On the Ukrainian side, the Pentagon estimates 124,500 to 131,000 casualties by the same point of the year, with some 17,500 thought to have been killed in action.

Kyiv's counteroffensive has been in progress since early June, but so far Ukrainian forces have not been able to achieve and exploit a significant battlefield breakthrough. Ukrainian officials and commanders have urged patience, suggesting that the initial stages of the operation are intended to stretch Russian defenses and identify weak points for a subsequent push.

Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister told journalists on Thursday that territorial gains are only one element of Ukraine's battlefield plans.

"The main task facing us now, apart from moving forward, is, of course, weakening the enemy's ability to defend itself," Maliar said, as reported by Ukrinform. "And, in fact, this is being done now. Dozens of ammunition depots are destroyed every week, hundreds of Russian soldiers are decimated per day."

"We already see signs that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the enemy to resist. And our defenders are full of strength to move forward," Maliar added.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.