Stavros Atlamazoglou
On February 24, 2022, Russia surprised the world by launching the large-scale invasion of its neighbor. The Russian military had been amassing forces along the border with Ukraine for months. However, many argued at the time that Russian President Vladimir Putin was bluffing and that he would recall his forces at the last minute.
Of course, Putin did not—and the largest conflict on European soil since the end of World War Two ensued.
After almost three years of brutal war, both combatants have taken heavy casualties in the fighting. According to all the available unclassified information, Russia has lost more than twice as many soldiers as Ukraine. However, given the two countries’ vast difference in size and population, Russia can deploy more men on the battlefield—and has a more robust strategic reserve than Ukraine.
The Casualties
An important consideration in any peace talks is the casualties both sides have sustained in almost three years of fighting.
According to the latest available data, the Russian military, paramilitary units, and pro-Russian separatist forces have suffered approximately 863,000 casualties killed and wounded. In addition, the Russian forces have lost tens of thousands of heavy weapon systems, including main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces, infantry fighting vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, tactical vehicles, and aircraft. These data are based on daily estimates released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, leading to suggestions of bias, but Western intelligence services and militaries have regularly corroborated the data.
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