Russia has lost around 65,000 soldiers since its invasion of Ukraine, officials in Kyiv say, a death toll which would rank well above the fatalities suffered by the US in the Vietnam War.
The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces gave the figure in its latest war update on social media. As of 17 October, it listed “about 65,320 (+320) persons eliminated” as among the “total combat losses of the enemy” since the war began almost eight months ago on 24 February.
If confirmed, it would mean Russia has lost close to 2,000 soldiers a week during the conflict. The 65,320 estimate was up about 10,000 on the previous figure provided by the Ukrainian military on 21 September.
