An armoured convoy of Russian troops drives in Russian-held part of Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, July 23, 2022.
An armoured convoy of Russian troops drives in Russian-held part of Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, July 23, 2022. Reuters / ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO

KEY POINTS

  • Russia lost 610 personnel in Ukraine between Tuesday and Wednesday
  • A total of 172,340 Russian combat losses have been recorded in the war
  • Russia has also lost 3,609 tanks, among other pieces of equipment

Russia lost 610 personnel and seven tanks in Ukraine in a single day but sustained zero losses in its fleet of armored fighting vehicles (AFV) within the same period, data provided by the Ukrainian military showed.

A total of 172,340 Russian combat losses have been recorded since the invasion of Ukraine began in late February of last year, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed in its most recent casualty report released Wednesday.

Russia has also lost 3,609 tanks and 6,966 AFVs, among other pieces of military equipment, in the war so far.

In a casualty report from Tuesday, the Ukrainian general staff claimed Russia had lost 171,730 personnel, 3,602 tanks and the same number of AFVs.

Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continues in Bakhmut, a city in Ukraine's partially occupied eastern province of Donetsk that has been Russia's target since summer, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense said in a Wednesday intelligence briefing.

However, Russian assaults on the city are at a reduced level compared to recent weeks, the ministry claimed.

Up to 30,000 Russian servicemen have already been killed or wounded in the fight for the city, Ian Stubbs, a senior military adviser part of the United Kingdom's delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said.

These reportedly included soldiers from Russia's regular army and fighters from the Wagner Group, a paramilitary organization run by oligarch and known ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The Wagner Group has confirmed the release of at least 5,000 convicts-turned-fighters from its ranks, and personnel shortages may be hampering Russian offensive efforts in the Bakhmut sector, according to the British MoD.

At the same time, Russia has reportedly been trying to encircle nearby Avdiivka, but its forces have only made marginal progress while suffering heavy losses in armored vehicles.

The Russian 10th Tank Regiment "has likely lost a large proportion of its tanks while attempting to surround Avdiivka from the south," the MoD said Tuesday.

"[The] 10th Tank Regiment's losses have likely largely been due to tactically flawed frontal assaults similar to those in other recent failed Russian armored attacks," the ministry claimed in another intelligence briefing.

Russia's 3rd Army Corps, the parent formation of the 10th Tank Regiment, has supposedly been experiencing issues regarding ill discipline and poor morale.

A wounded Ukrainian serviceman is carried away from the front line near Bakhmut in east Ukraine
AFP