Russian Death Toll in Ukraine Overtakes American Losses in Vietnam: Kyiv

The number of Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine has surpassed the number of American losses during the Vietnam War, according to Kyiv's latest estimates.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said about 65,000 Russians had died since the full-scale invasion began on February 24.

The statement, which included a running tally of Russia's supposed casualties and equipment losses, said as of October 16 "about 65,000 (+300) persons liquidated."

That total is about 10,000 more than Ukrainian officials estimated on September 21.

The new unverified figure exceeds, if accurate, would mean Russia's death toll after eight months would exceed the U.S.'s during more than a decade of fighting in Vietnam.

According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, 58,281 Americans were killed while fighting in the war.

It is difficult to know the exact number of Russian military losses as the Kremlin has rarely released figures to the public.

Russia previously challenged Ukraine's figures with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claiming last month that 5,937 soldiers had been killed since the start of the conflict.

Both Russian and Ukraine estimates have faced criticism from analysts.

The U.S. has made few assessments on the number of casualties in Ukraine. In early August, it estimated that 70,000 to 80,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded.

Michael Clarke, visiting professor in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, challenged Moscow and Kyiv's estimates of the Russian death toll.

He told Newsweek: "[The] Russian '5,000+' number is completely unrealistic. The Ukrainian number is probably too high, but may not be too far off the mark when all the evidence gets sifted."

Clarke said he thought between 30,000 and 40,000 people had died under the Russian flag in Ukraine, including Wagner mercenaries and Syrian groups.

He said many of Russia's wounded die "because they get no proper treatment and tend to be left to die on the battlefield unless the Ukrainians get to them early."

Newsweek has contacted Ukrainian and Russian officials for comment.

The number of Ukraine's dead is also unknown. Nearly 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel had been killed by August 22, according to the head of Ukraine's armed forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.

In addition, the UN has verified 6,221 Ukrainian civilian deaths as of October 9.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the nation's first partial mobilization since World War II in a bid to hold gains made since the invasion began.

The announcement led to widespread protests in Russia as well as hundreds of thousands of military-aged men fleeing to neighboring countries to avoid being drafted.

Putin said on Friday that 220,000 reservists had been drafted and that he had a goal of mobilizing 300,000 men.