January was the deadliest month in the war in Ukraine so far for Russian troops.
Russian forces continue to bleed on the ground in Ukraine, and there seems to be no end.
Ukraine: Russian Casualties in January
In the month of January, the Russian forces lost 20,230 troops killed or wounded.
Equipment destroyed includes 326 miscellaneous vehicles, 282 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 174 artillery pieces, 173 tanks, 112 tactical unmanned aerial systems, 73 cruise missiles, 38 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), 19 special equipment platforms, 14 attack and transport helicopters, 10 fighter, attack, bombers, and transport jets, and 7 anti-aircraft batteries.
Most of the fighting for the month of January in Ukraine took place in the Donbas, especially around Bakhmut and Vuhledar.
Although the distinction of casualties isn’t clear, the Russian military and the infamous private military company Wagner Group have both suffered heavy losses.
The mercenary group, in particular, has been bleeding men left and right, mainly because Wagner Group commanders have been relying on mass frontal assaults to overcome the Ukrainian defenses.
The situation is getting increasingly worse for the Russian forces. November was the deadliest month until December came.
And now January has outdone both in terms of casualties. If things couldn’t get any worse, February has already had three of the war’s deadliest days, and it is quickly approaching the numbers of the previous months.
At first, it was a surprise that the Russian military lost more troops than the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Then it was a surprise that the Russian forces lost more troops than their ten-year war in Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s. Now, however, the situation is getting out of hand for the Russians.
Indeed, Russian forces have more troops than the U.S. military lost during World War One. And there seems to be no end in sight as neither side is interested in negotiating right now as they continue to pursue their goals.
Total Russian Casualties
Overall, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that as of Sunday, Ukrainian forces have killed approximately 137,780 Russian troops (and wounded approximately twice to thrice that number).
Equipment destroyed includes 296 fighter, attack, bomber, and transport jets, 286 attack and transport helicopters, 3,280 tanks, 2,287 artillery pieces, 6,488 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 465 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), 18 boats and cutters, 5,148 vehicles and fuel tanks, 234 anti-aircraft batteries, 2,007 tactical unmanned aerial systems, 215 special equipment platforms, such as bridging vehicles, and four mobile Iskander ballistic missile systems, and 857 cruise missiles shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses.
These numbers are largely corroborated by U.S. and Western intelligence estimates.
In February, U.S. officials estimated that the Russian forces had lost approximately 200,000 troops killed and wounded in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian forces have also been suffering heavy casualties but not at the same rate as the Russians. Moreover, Kyiv can draw troops from a committed population that is aligned with the goals of the government. A very different picture indeed from what is going on in Russia.
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Expert Biography: A 19FortyFive Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
