Ukraine claims over 20,000 Russian troops killed during invasion

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed Saturday that roughly 20,100 Russian troops have been killed since the start of Moscow’s invasion.

On top of those casualties, the ministry said in a Twitter post that 163 Russian aircraft, 762 tanks, eight boats and 66 anti-aircraft warfare systems have been destroyed, in addition to other military equipment.

NATO earlier estimated about a month into the invasion that Russian forces had lost roughly 7,000 to 15,000 soldiers, with up to 40,000 dead, wounded, taken prisoner or missing.

Russia has mostly refrained from publicly disclosing casualty numbers but previously provided lower figures than Ukraine and NATO when it offered such information. Shortly after NATO released its estimate last month, Moscow placed the official number for its military losses in Ukraine at just under 1,400.

This comes almost two months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24. 

After facing fierce resistance from Ukraine and failing to take the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the early weeks of the assault, Russia has pulled back troops from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions and repositioned them ahead of an anticipated renewed offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

The U.S. and other countries have provided billions of dollars in aid and weapons to Ukraine amid the invasion. 

Russia has reportedly sent a formal letter to the U.S. warning the Biden administration to stop giving arms to Ukraine after President Biden announced this week an additional $800 million in military assistance to the country.