People take part in a ceremony in memory of Russian soldiers killed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Samara
Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • Russia lost 1,040 personnel between Wednesday and Thursday
  • The Ukrainian military has recorded 162,560 Russian casualties
  • Russia has also lost 3,504 tanks, among other pieces of equipment

About 1,040 Russian personnel were eliminated in Ukraine between Wednesday and Thursday, pushing Russia's total number of casualties in its ongoing invasion beyond 162,500, according to data provided by the Ukrainian military.

Around 162,560 Russian combat losses have been recorded by the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff since the war began more than a year ago, according to a casualty report released Thursday.

The figure was 161,520 in the military staff's report the previous day.

In addition to personnel, Russia has also lost in the war 3,504 tanks, 6,810 armored fighting vehicles and 2,539 artillery systems, among other pieces of military equipment, the latest figures provided by the Ukrainian military showed.

Up to 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province alone, according to Western officials.

Dominated by forces of the Russia-aligned Wagner Group paramilitary organization, Bakhmut is the only sector where Russia has gained recent tactical success, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a Thursday intelligence briefing.

Meanwhile, Russian attempts to assault the nearby town of Vuhledar have almost certainly slowed, according to the department.

Russia's defense ministry is currently engaged in a public feud with the Wagner Group, and there is a realistic possibility that the former is determined to win in Vuhledar "partially because it wants its success to complete with Wagner's achievements," the British MoD claimed.

The Wagner Group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused the Russian military in January of taking credit for the Wagner Group's victories in Ukraine, such as the capture of the town of Soledar.

In a recently published interview with several Russian media outlets, including the Federal News Agency, reportedly a rebranded Russian "troll factory" associated with Prigozhin, the oligarch claimed that the Wagner Group was experiencing a shortage of ammunition because it was not receiving any supplies.

"[S]hells are being made, but for some reason, we don't have them," he said.

Prigozhin previously claimed the lack of munitions his mercenary outfit faced resulted from "ordinary bureaucracy" or "betrayal."

"What if they [the Russian authorities] want to set us up, saying that we are scoundrels - and that's why they are not giving us ammunition, not giving us weapons, and not letting us replenish our personnel, including [recruiting] prisoners?" the Wagner Group head said in a video uploaded earlier this month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the public feud between the Russian military and the Wagner Group as "a clear sign of failure for the enemy."

Ukrainian service members fire a howitzer M119 at a front line near Bakhmut
Reuters