Defense Ministry: Russia lost 4,000 soldiers in Ukraine over the past week

Ukrainian defenders have "destroyed" nearly 4,000 Russian troops since March 27, First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Pavliuk said on April 2.

According to Pavliuk, in the last week of its all-out war against Ukraine, Russia also lost 224 pieces of various weapons and military equipment, including one aircraft, 33 drones, 23 tanks, 56 artillery systems, and 39 armored fighting vehicles.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported earlier in the day that Russia had lost a total of 174,550 troops since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

Colonel Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military defending the south of Donetsk Oblast, said on April 2 that Ukraine’s military had pushed the Russian troops back from "several positions" in the direction of Donetsk.

The Ukrainian forces "are now busy equipping these positions for defensive combat operations," Dmytrashkivskyi said on national television.

Earlier on April 1, the General Staff said that Russian forces had concentrated their efforts on conducting offensives toward Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka in Donetsk Oblast.