Russian losses surge, Ukrainian commander claims hundreds of soldiers 'picked off' by drones
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Russian losses have surged over the past several days, according to Ukraine's General Staff, as fighting intensifies across key front-line sectors in eastern and southern Ukraine amid expectations of a broader Russian spring offensive.
Kyiv reported 1,520 Russian casualties on March 19, following 1,710 on March 18 — about twice the daily losses reported on March 16 and March 17, which stood at 810 and 760, respectively, a level at which they've been for several months over winter.
Open-source battlefield maps by DeepState show continued Russian pressure along the Pokrovsk and Huliaipole directions, without confirmed major territorial gains over the same period.
Ukrainian military commanders link the spike in losses to renewed Russian assault attempts.
"Sudden weather changes on March 17–18, including fog, were used by the enemy to resume assault actions," said Robert Brovdi, known as "Madyar," commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, in a Telegram post.
According to Brovdi, Russian forces launched coordinated assaults using infantry, armored vehicles, and motorcycles across a 100-kilometer stretch between Rodynske and Huliaipole.
Describing the fighting on March 17, Brovdi said Russian troops advanced "with accumulated infantry, motorcycles, simultaneously across more than a dozen sectors," adding that over 500 were "picked off" by Ukrainian drone units.
He specified that the losses included "292-200 and 221-300," using military code for those killed (200) and wounded (300).
By midday on March 18, he said, an additional 277 Russian troops had been lost – "141-200 and 136-300" – bringing the total to more than 900 killed or wounded over roughly a day and a half.
Brovdi portrayed the assaults as repeated waves of personnel advancing under limited visibility, with Ukrainian drone operators striking them before they could reach Ukrainian positions.
The commander added that overall Russian losses were "significantly higher" than those recorded in this sector alone, but warned that "the remainder of March will be a heavy and prolonged fight."
The claims could not be independently verified by KyivIndependent. Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has previously said Ukrainian forces aim to inflict up to 50,000 Russian losses per month, as part of a strategy to degrade Moscow's offensive capacity.
