Some Russian units have suffered up to 80% losses in the east, Ukraine claims

russia soldiers
Russian soldiers training in Rostov, Russia, on December 6, 2022.Stringer/AFP via Getty Images
  • Some Russian units in the east have had 80% casualties, Ukraine's deputy defense minister said.

  • Western intelligence also points to high losses among Russia's army.

  • This includes NATO intelligence that says Russia is losing 2,000 men for every 100 yards it gains.

Russia has experienced up to 80% casualties in some of its units fighting in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine's deputy defense minister claimed.

Hanna Maliar said in a statement on Thursday that up to 80% of personnel had been incapacitated in some Russian army units, including units of the Wagner paramilitary group.

She also said that Russia was barely evacuating soldiers that had been killed or wounded, or not doing it at all.

Insider was unable to verify those figures.

But other reports, accounts by Russian soldiers, as well as Western intelligence updates have all pointed to high losses within Russia's army, particularly in recent weeks.

NATO intelligence this week said that Russia was losing 2,000 men for every 100 yards of territory it gained, The Times of London reported.

Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defence said on Friday that up to 200,000 Russian soldiers had likely been killed since the invasion started in February 2022. That figure has been echoed by other officials in the US and Europe.

It also said that Russia's casualty rate had "significantly increased" since Ukraine began its counteroffensive in September.

The UK ministry said on Sunday that Russia was losing its soldiers at the highest rate since the first week of the war, at an average of 824 deaths per day.

One Russian marine told media outlet 7x7 that around 500 men in his brigade had been killed fighting in the city of Vuhledar, one of the current flashpoints in the war, and that there were only eight survivors in one company.

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