🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Kyiv officials on Friday celebrated Russia losing more than 5,000 tanks since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"5000+ Russian tanks were destroyed during the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian power is stronger than occupiers' steel!" Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Friday in a post on social media, published shortly after Kyiv's military released its daily update on Russian losses in the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on October 20 said its forces destroyed 55 tanks in a single day, bringing the total number of tank losses in the war to 5,047.
Friday's figures from Kyiv mark one of Russia's deadliest days since it invaded Ukraine. According to Kyiv, Moscow's forces lost 1,380 military personnel in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of Russian casualties to 292,060.
Russia lost 9,557 armored fighting vehicles, of which 120 were destroyed in a single day, along with a total of 29 Russian artillery systems, bringing total losses to 7,012, according to the update.
Other Russian losses include 822 multiple launch rocket systems, 548 air defense systems, 320 aircraft, 5,326 drones, 20 ships and boats, and one submarine, according to Kyiv.
Newsweek cannot independently confirm Kyiv's figures, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email. Estimates of casualty numbers and military losses vary, with Kyiv's figures usually exceeding those of its Western allies.
Dutch open-source intelligence defense analysis website Oryx has visually confirmed that Russia has lost 2,404 tanks since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. It said that 1,571 have been destroyed, 137 have been damaged, 146 have been abandoned, and 550 have been captured.
Oryx has also visually confirmed that Ukraine has lost 668 tanks in the war, of which 439 were destroyed, 54 were damaged, 33 were abandoned, and 142 were captured.
Putin said during an interview with Chinese media on Monday that Ukraine's losses during its counteroffensive are eight times higher than those of Russia.
"The losses are simply huge—approximately one to eight as a ratio," Putin said.
On October 5, Putin said that Ukraine had lost 90,000 troops during its counteroffensive.
The losses on both sides come as Kyiv pushes to reclaim its occupied territory. Ukrainian forces have been working since early June to push Russian troops out of Moscow-controlled areas in eastern and southern Ukraine as part of its counteroffensive, but progress has been slow.
Intense fighting is underway in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and southern Zaporizhzhia regions.
This week, videos circulating on social media appeared to show Russia suffering huge losses of armor and tanks in the direction of Avdiivka, where a fierce battle is ongoing. Bird's eye view drone footage purported to show the moment Ukrainian forces struck Russian tanks with explosives.
General Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's commander-in-chief, said in a video on Telegram late on Thursday that Russia "is not relenting in attempts to break through our defenses and surround" Avdiivka.
"The enemy is actively bringing in assault units and large amounts of armored equipment and using aircraft and artillery," he said.
Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.
About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more