Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The figures equal nearly 100 casualties every hour.
Russian forces suffered 16,130 casualties between November 1 and November 7, according to an official dispatch from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The figures have not been independently verified, but if they are correct, it is Russia’s highest weekly loss since the invasion began in February 2022.
Last week also marked a grim milestone for the Russian war effort, as the estimated Russian losses surpassed 1.6 million wounded and killed, according to Ukrainian estimates.
2,300+ casualties every day
Ukrainian defenders took out an average of over 2,300 Russian troops each day, which works out to roughly one soldier lost every thirty-six seconds. Kyiv’s military leaders noted that the rate effectively wiped out a full motorized rifle regiment every single day.
Ukrainian commanders praised their troops while underscoring the staggering pace of the fighting. “The first week of November became the most successful for Ukrainian warriors since the beginning of the full-scale invasion,” the General Staff said in an official dispatch. “On average, more than 2,300 occupiers daily, or nearly a hundred every hour,” the report noted.
Heavy frontal assaults
Behind the staggering numbers lie brutal frontal tactics across eastern and southern battlefields. Russian field officers have repeatedly pushed tightly packed infantry squads into heavy crossfire to make up for depleted tank fleets. The gamble failed. Ukrainian minefields, pinpoint artillery, and swarms of explosive drones smashed the charging units before they could establish a foothold.
Drone warfare in particular proved devastating. In October alone, unmanned units commanded by Robert Brovdi accounted for 16,796 Russian casualties across hundreds of thousands of sorties. At the same time, Ukrainian long-range strikes battered oil refineries in Saratov and radar sites in Bryansk to cut off fuel and missile support.
Independent observers report that the Kremlin faces a mounting crisis. A recent statistical analysis by The Economist calculated that Russian casualties now range between 1.4 million and 2.1 million dead and wounded. Human-wave assaults have burned through Moscow’s army.
As a result, the relentless attrition is now hollowing out both frontline units and the wider civilian workforce.
Trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi
Representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the US are scheduled to meet for the first trilateral talks since February in Abu Dhabi this Tuesday.
The Kremlin has reapeatedly framed a Russian victory in Ukraine as inevitable in an attempt to discourage Ukraine’s allies from supplying the nation with military and economic aid.
However, the Institute for the Study of War assessed on September 19 that the Russian Ministry of Defense repeatedly presents exxagerated claims regarding Russian advances, attempting to promote a false narrative.
