More than 300,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war with Ukraine, according to new figures from the United Kingdom.
The Sun reported that U.K. military intelligence believes 302,000 Russian soldiers have been either killed or wounded in the conflict, with countless more lost fighting for mercenary organizations such as the Wagner Group.
Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have also reportedly deserted.
“We also estimate that over 7,117 Russian armoured vehicles, including nearly 2,475 main battle tanks, 93 fixed wing aircraft, 132 helicopters, 320 unmanned aerial vehicles, 16 naval vessels of all classes, and over 1,300 artillery systems of all types have been destroyed since the start of the conflict,” James Heappey, the armed forces minister, said, according to The Telegraph.
Heappey reportedly revealed the statistics in response to a written parliamentary question from the Labour Party’s shadow defense secretary, John Healey.
Russia is believed to have suffered its greatest casualties this year during its failed attempt to surround Avdiivka. According to the Sun, videos of the carnage there show destroyed tanks and bodies littering the battlefield.
Shared by a Telegram channel that has documented Russian deaths throughout the war, a video clip showed a “huge number of deaths in the Avdiivka area,” according to the caption.
Citing military analysts, the Sun reported that Putin’s forces are trying to surround Avdiivka and expected it to take at most a day or two.
The campaign has instead turned into a drawn-out bloodbath, similar to the year-long fight for Bakhmut, which is not far away.
Ukraine claims Russia has lost 7,000 soldiers, 100 tanks, and 250 armoured vehicles in the fight for Avdiivka.