Ukraine Army Eliminates 550 Russian Soldiers In 24 Hours; 9 AFVs, 3 Tanks Destroyed

The Russian army suffered more than 500 casualties in Ukraine within a day this week, according to the Ukrainian military.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces announced 550 additional Russian military losses in its most recent casualty report released Tuesday.

Russia's recent losses also included three tanks and nine armored fighting vehicles (AFV).

In total, Russia has lost 149,240 personnel, 3,388 tanks and 6,630 AFVs since it launched its invasion more than a year ago.

The Ukrainian military's Monday casualty report stated that Russia had lost 148,690 personnel, 3,385 tanks and 6,621 AFVs at the time.

Russia's sole operating tank factory, the Uralvagonzavod plant located in the city of Nizhny Tagil, has been struggling to keep up with increased demand caused by the war, The Economist reported.

The plant can produce around 20 new tanks and refurbish about eight each month, according to the outlet.

Three other repair plants in Russia were reportedly rebuilding another 17 or so tanks every month.

However, data provided by the open-source intelligence platform Oryx, which keeps track of visually confirmed equipment losses in the war, showed that Russia was also losing around 150 tanks monthly.

While Ukraine has also struggled to produce new tanks as its only tank factory was destroyed at the start of the war, it has been receiving tanks from neighboring countries and allies.

Around 745 tanks have either been delivered or pledged to Ukraine, according to Oryx.

These ranged from Soviet-era T-72s from Poland, the Czech Republic and North Macedonia to modern vehicles such as the German-made Leopard 2, British Challenger 2 and American M1 Abrams.

Meanwhile, only Belarus has provided Russia with tanks, Oryx's records showed.

Polish President Andrzej Duda confirmed Friday that Poland has delivered its first batch of Leopard 2 donations to Ukraine.

Ukrainian troops have been training with Leopard 2 after Germany approved the export of such vehicles, around 2,000 of which are spread out among European countries, CNN reported.

"The Leopards are in Europe, they are easy to get to Ukraine and several European countries use them, so they are readily available," Minna Alander, a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told The New York Times.

"Logistics and maintenance would be easier. Spare parts and know-how are here in Europe, so the training of Ukrainians would be easier," she explained.