Ukrainian Soldier Casualties and Equipment Losses in Recent Offensive

Ukrainian soldier at a shooting training session last Thursday in the Donetsk region.AP Image

Since the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in early June, the front line has only moved a few kilometers. Around the fronts at Bachmut, Zaporizhia and Voehledar, not much movement can be seen on the maps, certainly in recent weeks, but fierce fighting is still taking place. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the Russians lose hundreds of soldiers every day, who are killed or seriously injured. That may be an overestimate, but British and American intelligence services also report large Russian losses. After peaking at the start of the offensive, daily losses remain high.

Little concrete information is available about the number of Ukrainian casualties. The latest estimate by US authorities dates from March, long before the offensive. By then, a total of 120,000 Ukrainian soldiers would have been killed or wounded.

What is certain is that Ukraine will lose a lot of equipment in the offensive. For example, 15 of the 61 Leopard tanks that have now been delivered have been found by Oryx’s voluntary weapon counters, showing that they have been destroyed or heavily damaged. Ukrainian weapons losses were particularly high in the first weeks of the offensive, sources told The New York Times. American and European experts then estimated that about 20 percent of the weapons and vehicles deployed were lost. The loss rate is now said to have dropped to about 10 percent.

There was a boost for the Ukrainian armed forces this week. For the first time since July 27, a village occupied by the Russians was liberated, Urozhayne in Donetsk. It is the eleventh settlement Ukraine has recaptured since June.

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2023-08-18 17:09:45
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