In recent weeks, heavy fighting has been ongoing between Russian and Ukrainian forces around the small town of Avdiyivka in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The Russian offensive is probably the largest in a long time, British intelligence reported a couple of weeks ago. Now the American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes that the fighting has cost Russia a lot.
In terms of military vehicles, the ISW estimates that Russia lost 109 tanks and other armored vehicles in fighting around Avdiyivka between October 10 and 20.
Likely to weaken Russia’s offensive capability
The Ukrainian military is far more generous with its numbers. Ukrainian colonel Oleksandr Shtupun claimed earlier this week that more than 400 Russian armored vehicles, including tanks, had been lost near Avdiyivka and Marikna. The same man claims 5000,<> Russian soldiers have been killed in the battles.
The ISW writes that from satellite images it can be said with certainty that at least 109 armored vehicles were destroyed during the ten days. Whichever figures are correct, the think tank believes that the lowest confirmed number of casualties could have major consequences for Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
«Heavy Russian losses around Avdiyivka are likely to weaken Russia’s long-term offensive capability,» the ISW said.
More and more Russian soldiers confirmed killed
Earlier this week, independent Russian media outlet Mediazona and Britain’s BBC reported that34,957 soldiers on the Russian side have been killed in Ukraine.
The real figure is probably much higher, but there are no credible official statistics on the casualty figures, NTB writes.
The nearly 35,000 names on Mediazona’s list are the deaths that have been confirmed using open sources. These may include relatives’ social media posts, local media reports, insurance payments or actual burial sites in Russia.
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