According to the American sources, close to 120,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, and between 170,000 and 180,000 wounded, in connection with the fighting, while the Ukrainian losses are stated to be upwards of 190,000, of which close to 70,000 have been killed and between 100,000 and 120,000 wounded.
Casualties on both sides have reportedly intensified in recent months as a result of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. According to the sources, hundreds of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers were killed and wounded daily during the winter and spring as the battle for Bachmut intensified.
The Biden administration’s latest estimate of the number of casualties came last November, when it was estimated that more than 100,000 soldiers had been killed or wounded on each side since the invasion began, writes the New York Times.
The start of the counteroffensive is particularly difficult for Ukraine
Both US and European government sources said the initial weeks of Ukraine’s counteroffensive were particularly difficult for the country’s troops.
In the first two weeks, as much as 20 percent of the weapons that Ukraine sent to the battlefield were destroyed or damaged, including the tanks that were expected to strike back at the Russian troops.
The death toll reflects the lack of prompt medical care
The number of dead and wounded reflects the amount of lethal ammunition used by both sides, while pointing to the lack of rapid medical care on the front lines, according to The New York Times.
And unlike the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the guideline was to evacuate casualties to a medical facility within an hour, there is no rapid casualty evacuation capability in Ukraine.
According to The New York Times, injured soldiers will instead be forced to leave the front on their own on foot. In some cases, dead and wounded are also left on the battlefield because medics are unable to reach them. Hospitals and aid stations are also often overloaded.
Think that Putin can withstand hundreds of thousands of losses
Although the sources stress that the estimates are uncertain, Russian analysts believe that the loss of Russian lives will most likely not deter President Putin.
US government officials believe that the Russian president will tolerate hundreds of thousands of wounded and dead in Ukraine, although higher numbers could potentially cut into his political support, The New York Times reports.