The invasion, launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24 as a “special military operation”, did not go as planned. Putin’s plan was apparently to overthrow the Ukrainian government in a short time. However, he could not reach his goal due to the fierce resistance of Ukraine.
The Russian army has so far failed to capture any major cities, and as the invasion slowed down, Putin’s occupation forces were heavily bombarded, resulting in heavy casualties. Thousands of Ukrainians died, but the Russians also suffered heavy losses against an opponent heavily motivated to defend their homeland.
A pro-Kremlin newspaper quoted an official from the Russian Defense Ministry as saying the actual number of Russian soldiers killed since the start of the invasion of Ukraine was 9,861.
According to the Kremlin’s statement, the loss of the Russian army as of March 2 was 498 Russian soldiers. However, this number turned out to be 9 thousand 861. The number of injured soldiers is 16,153.
The figures were published last Sunday by pro-Putin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, citing Russian Defense Ministry officials. But later the statistics were quickly removed from the article.