Vladimir Putin reeling as ‘600K Russians wiped out’ in bloody Ukraine war

In just the first year following the invasion, on February 24, 2022, Russian losses, both killed and wounded, exceeded the total Soviet losses in any conflict since WW2.

Russia has suffered a staggering 600,000 casualties in Ukraine since February 2022 in a stark illustration of the human cost of Vladimir Putin’s war, the Pentagon has claimed.

Russian forces have been advancing in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region since the summer, moving steadily towards Pokrovsk, a key transport hub.

However, Putin is paying a heavy price for such gains, with losses accelerating at an alarming rate.

September was said to be the deadliest month of the entire conflict for Russia, said a senior US defence official during a briefing yesterday.

They explained: “Russian losses, both killed and wounded, in just the first year of the war have exceeded the total Soviet losses in any conflict since the Second World War.”

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is paying a heavy human cost for territorial gains, says the Pentagon. (Image: GETTY/Defence of Ukraine)

Despite widespread predictions that Russia’s campaign would falter, Putin’s forces have continued to fight over two and a half years into the conflict, despite the destruction of significant amounts of military equipment, dizzying levels of defence spending, and mass mobilisation.

So far Russia has avoided having to introduce a large-scale draft, instead relying on increased pay and pensions to attract recruits – but the rising body count may force a change of policy in the near future.

While the vast losses are a blow to Moscow, they will not necessarily prove to be a turning point in favour of Ukraine, with Putin pushing for an increase in defence spending by 25 percent for next year.

One senior US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told defence news.com Russia was likely to continue making “incremental gains” by exploiting its numerical advantage to push through Ukraine’s solid defences.

Characterising a strategy often referred to as the “meat grinder”, they added: “This is the Russian way of war – they continue to throw masses of troops into the fight, and we’ll likely see high casualties continue.”

There are also concerns that North Korea may start sending troops to assist Russia, having delivered military equipment to Moscow, South Korea’s defence minister warned earlier this week.

As well as human losses, Russia has also suffered severe damage to its military infrastructure, with 32 vessels from its Black Sea fleet damaged or destroyed, and two-thirds of its pre-war stock of tanks depleted.

Consequently, Putin’s forces have been forced to dig into Soviet-era equipment reserves, retrofitting older machinery for deployment.

Ukraine’s defence ministry puts the number of “eliminated” Russian personnel in Ukraine at 665,200, in addition to 8,945 tanks, 17,765 armoured vehicles, 19,263 artillery systems and other materials.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence puts the total number of casualties at 648,000.

A planned forum of world leaders in support of Ukraine, hosted by US President Joe Biden in Ramstein, Germany, was cancelled this week due to preparations for Hurricane Milton, which hit Tampa yesterday.

The White House has yet to confirm a new date for the meeting.

Source: Khabooem