Russia Just Suffered One of Its Deadliest Days in War So Far, Kyiv Says

Russia has suffered one of its deadliest days since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Kyiv's military.

Moscow is reported to be losing a large number of troops and equipment as Kyiv pushes on with a counteroffensive to reclaim its occupied territory, and as clashes intensify in Avdiivka, an industrial hub in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

Figures released by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Thursday state that Russia lost 1,330 military personnel in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of Russian casualties since February 24, 2022 to 315,620.

It marks the highest daily estimate by Ukraine's military since October 19, when it said that Russia had lost 1,380 troops.

Newsweek couldn't independently verify the figures. Estimates of casualty numbers vary, with Kyiv's figures usually exceeding those of its Western allies. Russia rarely releases information on troop losses, but in September 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said 5,937 troops had been killed in the war.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Ukrainian and Russian casualties have mounted since October, when Russia mounted its biggest offensive in months in an attempt to capture Avdiivka, pouring in thousands of troops, tanks and armored vehicles. Moscow is said to have accumulated around 40,000 troops for a fresh assault on the town, which is considered to be the gateway to the city of Donetsk.

The number of Russian troops that Kyiv's military says has been "liquidated" in the war has gradually increased from between 300 and 600 a day since early July to between 600 and 1,000 soldiers since early October—coinciding with Moscow's Avdiivka push.

The U.K.'s defense ministry said in an intelligence update last month that Russia likely had committed elements of up to eight brigades to Avdiivka which have "likely suffered some of Russia's highest casualty rates of 2023 so far."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said last month that Moscow had lost at least a brigade trying to capture the strategic town. A Russian brigade can consist of between 2,000 and 8,000 personnel, according to open sources.

The U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update on the conflict that Russian sources made unconfirmed claims that Russian forces continued advancing around Avdiivka on Wednesday.

Last week, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the head of Ukraine's southern group of forces, said troops around Avdiivka were "stoutly holding their defenses."

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