Russian forces on Oct. 17 suffered their second deadliest day since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to figures released by Kyiv.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported 1,530 Russian casualties over the past day, a figure only surpassed once in more than two-and-a-half years of fighting.
The bloodiest day for Moscow's forces was on May 13, when they suffered a reported 1,740 casualties.
The figures do not specify killed or wounded, though the overall consensus is that it includes dead, wounded, missing, and captured.
Facing a shortage of manpower and a pressing need to maintain the grinding advances in eastern Ukraine, Russia has reportedly been throwing some of its most skilled troops into mass infantry attacks, and at very high costs.
Steven Wolff, Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham, told the Kyiv Independent last month that Russia's huge losses are indicative of a Russian military mindset that has not changed in decades.
"Russian military doctrine is Soviet-style, and it always relied on the depth of Russia and its enormous resources, including manpower resources," he said.
"The way in which (Soviet leader Joseph) Stalin just threw millions of people at the Nazis in the 1940s, it's not very different to what (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does in this terrible war of aggression against Ukraine."
Chris York
According to an analysis of the Ukrainian figures by analyst Ragnar Gudmundsson, two of the top ten bloodiest days for Moscow's forces since the launch of the full-scale invasion occurred this month — 1,530 on Oct. 17, and 1,450 on Oct. 16.
Three others all occurred last month – Sept. 22, with 1,500 casualties, Sept. 28, with 1,470, and Sept. 21, with 1,440.
In order to sustain this pool of manpower, Putin earlier this month signed a decree increasing the total number of Russian military personnel and staff by 180,000, to just under 2.4 million.
"The past four months have proved the costliest for Russian forces since the war began in 2022," according to a U.K. military intelligence report on Sept. 23.
The report said Russian casualties, both killed and wounded, were averaging over 1,000 a day, and were 1,262 in May, 1,163 in June, 1,140 in July, and 1,187 in August, adding the total number since the start of the full-scale invasion was "likely over 610,000."
The Kyiv Independent news desk
