These are 6 of Russia's deadliest moments in the Ukraine war
Alia Shoaib
- Russia is believed to have lost around 300,000 soldiers during the war in Ukraine.
- Some Ukrainian strikes have been particularly deadly for Russia, killing dozens of soldiers at once.
The 20 months of war in Ukraine have been brutal and costly for both sides, but particularly so for the invading Russian forces.
Russians typically outnumber Ukrainians on the battlefield by almost three to one, according to The New York Times, and Ukraine has used weapons such as the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to inflict high casualties on Russian troops.
Russia has never confirmed the numbers of its losses, but Western estimates suggest that approximately 300,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine. Ukrainian casualties are believed to be around 200,000.
Reports say Russia has been hemorrhaging men and weapons in its most significant attack against Ukraine in recent months to capture Avdiivka, a strategic town in eastern Ukraine that acts as a gateway to Russia-occupied Ukraine.
Despite high Russian losses, the country's population is around three times as large as Ukraine's, and therefore has a large pool to keep replenishing its ranks.
These are believed to be some of the deadliest single moments for Russia in the conflict so far.
The sinking of the missile cruiser Moskva
Just two months into Russia's unprovoked invasion, Ukraine scored an early success by sinking the Russian warship Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet.
On 14 April 2022, Ukraine struck the ship with at least one Neptune missile, according to Ukrainian officials, which the Pentagon confirmed.
Ukraine claimed that almost all of the 500 sailors on board perished, while Russia said that nearly all were evacuated before the ship sank.
Later, Moscow admitted under pressure that one sailor died, 27 were missing, and said the rest had been evacuated.
However, several family members of Moskva sailors told Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta at least 40 on board had died.
The true death toll is still unknown.
A Russian battalion’s failed crossing of the Siverskyi Donets River
Ukraine decimated a Russian battalion as it tried to cross the Siverskyi Donets River in northeastern Ukraine in May 2022.
Ukrainian artillery destroyed several Russian pontoon bridges, and estimates put the toll of dead or wounded Russians at around 485, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), based on analyses of publicly available imagery.
They estimated that over 80 pieces of equipment could have been destroyed.
Media reports said that Ukraine used M777 howitzers to strike the battalion.
Russian milbloggers responded to the incident with shock and began commenting on the incompetence of the Russian military, per the ISW.
New Year’s strike on Makiivka
While most Russian losses remain unacknowledged by officials, Russia's defense ministry made a rare announcement confirming the deaths of 89 troops in a strike in Makiivka, a small city in the Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine claimed that the casualties were much higher, with around 400 soldiers killed and 300 injured. The figures could not be independently verified.
Ukraine said it used HIMARS for the attack, and the Russian ministry said Ukraine fired six rockets, four of which struck their troops, per the ISW.
The attack sparked widespread criticism of Russian military leadership, per ISW. A senior Russian military official, Lt Gen Sergei Sevryukov, blamed the high number of casualties on soldiers' use of cell phones, without providing evidence, The Guardian reported.
Strike during a commander’s speech in Kreminna
Ukraine's HIMARS reportedly struck a large gathering of Russian soldiers in the city of Kreminna as they stood for two hours to watch a commander's speech in July 2023.
Some reports put the number of dead as high as 100 troops and the total casualties as high as 200. The numbers could not be independently verified.
An unnamed Ukrainian official told The Kyiv Post that it was a "funny situation" as Russian soldiers had made themselves sitting ducks.
The claim, which was initially reported by a Russian milbogger, led to Russian nationalists calling for military leaders to be punished.
Russians killed while training on Dzharylhach island
Ukraine released a video that it claimed showed Russian soldiers being struck by HIMARS as they trained at Dzharylhach island, a 26-mile-long sandbank in the Black Sea that's part of the Russian-occupied Kherson region.
Ukraine said that the attack caused 200 casualties. The number could not be independently verified.
The drone footage from August 2023 shows soldiers appearing to stretch and exercise on the Ukrainian island's sandy shores before being hit from above.
A strike on Kherson 14 miles behind the front line
Ukrainian forces likely took out more than 70 Russian soldiers in a strike in the village of Hladkivka in the Kherson region on November 10, 2023, the UK Ministry of Defence said.
The attack, which targeted a convoy of trucks, likely took place 14 miles behind the front line, highlighting Ukraine's long-range precision strike capabilities.
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