Ukraine has destroyed around 500 Russian armored vehicles per month since Vladimir Putin’s invasion began on February 2022, Kyiv claims.
In post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry wrote: “13,000 Russian armored combat vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.”
“It’s, on average, more than 500 armored vehicles per month,” it added. “Ukrainian warriors destroy Russian weapons with incredible speed. Bravo!”
In its regular update on reported Russian losses on Tuesday, the ministry claimed Russia had lost 6,819 tanks, 13,049 armored fighting vehicles, 14,191 vehicles and fuel tanks, 10,698 artillery systems, 1,017 multiple launch rocket systems, 721 air defense systems, 347 airplanes, 325 helicopters, 8,318 drones, 26 ships and boats, and one submarine since the conflict started.
Both countries closely protect their reported losses, which are difficult to independently verify.
READ MORE: Ukraine vaporises Russian armour with kamikaze drone as Putin launches offensive
Last month, Andriy Kovalyov, spokesman for Ukraine’s General Staff, said that Ukraine’s loss estimates were “total combat losses” that included both dead and injured personnel.
It came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement on February 25 that 180,000 Russian troops had been killed up to that point in the war.
Zelensky also said at the time some 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed resisting Russia’s invasion, the first time Kyiv announced an official death toll of soldiers, though he declined to provide official figures for the wounded and missing.
Tuesday’s figures come after Putin again warned the West against deploying troops to Ukraine. Hailing his victory in an election dimissed by Western leaders as a sham, the Russian leader warned possible conflict between Russia and NATO would put the world “a step away” from World War III.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that sending Western troops into Ukraine should not be ruled out, though he said the current situation does not require it.
