This month, 1,000 people chose to support the Kyiv Independent. Can we count on you, too?
Become a member
Skip to content
Edit post

Russian casualties reached record high in October, UK defense minister says

by The Kyiv Independent news desk November 9, 2024 7:03 PM 2 min read
Members of the unit Dnipro One of the Joint Assault Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine "Luty" operate a Soviet-era howitzer D-30 on November 09, 2024, near Toretsk, Ukraine (Diego Fedele/Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Russian forces in Ukraine suffered their deadliest month since the start of the full-scale invasion, the U.K.'s defense minister said in an interview published Nov. 8.

Speaking to The Telegraph, John Healey said that Moscow's troops suffered 41,980 killed and wounded during October, according to British defense intelligence figures.

This works out at an average of 1,354 every day.

British defense intelligence estimates Russia has likely suffered more than 696,000 losses since the start of the full-scale invasion, a figure in line with Ukraine's current total figure of 707,540 reported on Nov. 9.

The daily figure reported by Kyiv was 1,660, the second highest of the war.

The previous second highest was 1,630 reported on Oct. 25, which surpassed the previous record of 1,530, which was set just a week earlier.

The bloodiest day for Moscow's forces was on May 13, when they suffered a reported 1,740 casualties.

While Russian forces are suffering record losses, they're also making increasingly swift gains in the east of Ukraine.

According to a Bloomberg analysis published on Nov. 1, Ukraine has lost 1,146 square kilometers of its own territory since the launch of the Kursk Oblast incursion in early August, with the week up until Nov. 1 reported as the worst in terms of lost territory in all of 2024.

On Nov. 2, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Ukraine was facing “one of the most powerful” Russian offensives since the start of the all out war.

Over autumn, large chunks of Ukrainian territory, sometimes including entire cities, have been lost on a near-daily basis in southern Donetsk Oblast, while Russian forces have also made operationally significant gains near Toretsk, Chasiv Yar, Kupiansk, as well as on their own soil in Kursk Oblast.

Despite the grim situation, Healey told the Telegraph that Russia's momentum isn't unstoppable.

When asked if Ukraine with the support of its Western allies can win the war, he replied: "The West can and must."

Ukraine struggles to contain Russian advance in Donetsk Oblast as US elections loom
As voters in the U.S. head to the polls in presidential elections set to decisively steer the trajectory of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the situation on the battlefield is beginning to unravel for Kyiv. After two years of brutal attritional warfare across southern and eastern Ukraine,…
Let’s see how far we can go?
We’ve been amazed by your support. We’ve reached our initial goal of finding 1,000 new paying members. We still have till the end of our birthday campaign — with more support, we can do even more good journalism. Over 13,000 people are standing behind us. Can we count on you, too?
Show us support this birthday month
Become a member
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

11:50 PM

US announces $988 million military aid package for Ukraine.

The latest aid package will be pulled through the remaining $2 billion in funding from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) — a Pentagon-led program for supplying arms to Ukraine through contracts with U.S. defense companies.
5:32 PM  (Updated: )

Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih kills 3, injures 17, including 6-year-old boy.

Russian forces attacked Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Dec. 6, killing two people and injuring 17, including a six-year-old boy, according to Governor Serhii Lysak. The death toll rose to three on Dec. 7 when rescuers recovered another body from the rubble.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.