Russia rejects US-released casualty figures from Ukraine war: ‘Plucked from thin air’

Moscow on Tuesday rejected U.S. estimates for the number of Russian casualties in the Ukraine war, including that more than 20,000 Russians have died since December, claiming the numbers were “plucked from thin air.”

“Washington has absolutely no way to give any correct numbers, and this is how it should be treated,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to CNN.

The rebuke from Peskov comes after the White House said Monday that the Russian military suffered around 100,000 casualties in the war since December, including more than 20,000 deaths.

“Russia has exhausted its military stockpiles and its armed forces,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “Just since December, we estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 killed in action. … It’s really stunning, these numbers.” 

Kirby said the U.S. believes around half of those deaths include soldiers from the private military company Wagner Group.

But Peskov argued the only accurate source for statistics on deaths in the war comes from the official numbers posted by the Russian Defense Ministry.

The ministry has not published official death numbers since September, when it said nearly 6,000 Russian troops had been killed.

After the public report on Russian losses in the war by the White House, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a speech on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military was also facing losses.

“The Russian Armed Forces are conducting active operations along the entire engagement line,” Shoigu said, according to Russian state news agency TASS. “Despite the unprecedented military assistance from Western countries, the enemy is sustaining heavy losses.”

Shoigu claimed Ukraine lost 15,000 troops in the last month, adding Kyiv has also faced heavy losses of equipment like tanks and aircraft.