According to Ukrainian officials, Russia lost dozens of tanks, armored vehicles and drones in just one day of fighting.
On Sunday, October 2, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said that 23 tanks, 26 armored fighting vehicles, eight artillery units and six drones had been destroyed in the last 24 hours.
According to Kyiv, since the start of the war on February 24, Russia has lost 2,377 tanks, 4,975 armored fighting vehicles, 1,405 artillery units and 1,015 drones.
Ukrainian soldiers loot an abandoned Russian T-90A tank in Kyrylivka, in the recently retaken territory near Kharkiv, on September 30, 2022. Ukraine claimed Russia lost dozens of military vehicles. Getty
It added that some 60,110 Russian personnel have been “eliminated” since Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine.
Although Russia lost a significant number of troops and equipment, an exact figure is difficult to verify.
“Have you ever noticed that every once in a while you bump into someone you shouldn’t put up with? This is me.”
Walt KowalskyTotal enemy combat losses from February 24 to October 2: pic.twitter.com/YyrOY3ILaD
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 2, 2022
Russian officials do not regularly report their military losses, and last gave an update in March when they said 1,351 of their troops had been killed.
The Ukrainian claim comes as its forces continue a counteroffensive in regions under Russian occupation.
On Saturday, Kiev’s forces recaptured the town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Russian Defense Ministry Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov confirmed that his forces had withdrawn from Lyman.
But he also added that 200 Ukrainian military units had been destroyed before their withdrawal.
Russia’s Defense Ministry also said Sunday it had destroyed 310 Ukrainian planes, 155 helicopters, 378 anti-aircraft missile systems, 5,281 tanks and armored fighting vehicles in Ukraine since February 24, according to RIA Novosti.
The liberation of Lyman represented a major defeat for Putin, who just hours earlier declared that Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia would join after referenda in the territories of the Russian Federation.
But Ukraine, its NATO allies and the European Union dismissed the referenda as a sham and reiterated their stance that the regions should be under Kiev’s control.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
While the Russian army was being pushed back from much of Ukraine, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana warned that Moscow could still be a dangerous enemy.
He said: “Russia’s war underscores the importance of strong deterrence and defense. Russia is weakened but still dangerous. And we cannot let go of our vigilance. We cannot assume that it will not attack another country.
“Many assumed that there would not be a full-scale invasion of Ukraine from the start. You were wrong.”
His comments come after four explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines near Denmark and Sweden.
While European Union officials have not held Moscow directly responsible, they have hinted that there may have been Russian involvement. Putin denies responsibility for the blasts, instead blaming Western opponents.