Russian deaths after three months in Ukraine ‘same as Soviets’ nine years in Afghanistan’
Russian troop deaths in the first three months of the war in Ukraine are the same as Soviet losses during nine years of conflict in Afghanistan, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
In its daily social media briefing on Monday, the MoD said: “In the first three months of its ‘special military operation’, Russia has likely suffered a similar death toll to that experienced by the Soviet Union during its nine-year war in Afghanistan.
“A combination of poor low-level tactics, limited air cover, a lack of flexibility, and a command approach which is prepared to reinforce failure and repeat mistakes has led to this high casualty rate, which continues to rise in the Donbas offensive.”
The Soviet Union lost some 15,000 soldiers, with thousands more wounded, during its campaign in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989.
In its own morning update, Ukraine’s armed forces said on Monday that it estimated Russian personnel losses of 29,200 since Moscow’s invasion on Feb 24.
Ukraine’s General Staff said in a Facebook post on Monday that Russia had lost 150 troops in the past day.
However, these figures have not been verified by Western security and intelligence officials.
The MoD added: “The Russian public has, in the past, proven sensitive to casualties suffered during wars of choice. As casualties suffered in Ukraine continue to rise, they will become more apparent, and public dissatisfaction with the war and a willingness to voice it may grow.”
The MoD previously said that Russia had lost a third of its ground forces committed to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict.
Russia has not publicly confirmed its losses in Ukraine for several weeks. In its last update in March, the Kremlin confirmed it had lost some 1,300 troops since the invasion begin a month earlier.
Despite the predicted losses, Vladimir Putin’s troops in Ukraine have continued to intensify their efforts in the eastern Donbas region.
Russian forces have ramped up efforts aimed at seizing control of Severodonetsk, one of the last big cities under Ukrainian control in the Luhansk province.
The city, which had a pre-war population of about 100,000, is expected to become the next major military struggle after the drawn-out battle over Mariupol came to an end last week.
Russian forces were “throwing everything that they have at” Severodonetsk, said Matthew Schmidt, an associate professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven.
Local officials have warned the city faces a similar fate to Mariupol, which was razed to the ground under constant bombardment by Russia during a two-month siege.
Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, accused Moscow of using the same “scorched-earth” tactics.
“Round-the-clock there is shelling, and unfortunately the Russian army chose the scorched earth tactic against the city of Severodonetsk,” he said. “They are simply systematically destroying the city. Everywhere is being shelled constantly.
“They are wiping Severodonetsk from the face of the Earth.”
