Russia reveals major losses and casualties for Ukraine

Russia has allegedly destroyed several important Western-supplied weapons in Ukraine during the first three months of 2024 according to the Russian Defense Minister. Here is a list of what was lost and why it matters. 

Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu reportedly revealed that Ukraine has lost six of its American High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (Himars) as well as five Patriot air defense systems according to Newsweek. 

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Whether or not the numbers quoted by Shoigu are real is difficult to say but we do know that at least one Ukrainian Himars was destroyed in March after video footage emerged of the weapon being hit by a Russian strike. 

A Russian drone spotted the Himars and its support vehicles operating along a treeline somewhere in Donetsk. The vehicle was subsequently destroyed when it was struck by a missile according to reporting from Forbes. 

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The vehicle appeared to be idling in broad daylight and it's not clear why it wasn’t hiding since the unit operating the system, the 27th Rocket Artillery Brigade, normally works in the hours between dusk and dawn for safety. 

“In any event, it’s a hard loss for the Ukrainian army—and a rare counterbattery win for a Russian army that mostly has failed to counter the American-made HIMARS,” wrote David Axe of Forbes, adding it wasn’t a killing blow. 

Ukraine has been supplied with 39 Himars from the United States as well as 25 M270 rocket artillery systems from the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. However, if Kyiv has lost six systems it could be a problem. 

If Shoigu’s revelation that six Himars have been destroyed in Ukraine since the start of 2024, it would represent a loss of just over 15% of Kyiv’s Himars fleet and just over 9% of its current total foreign rocket artillery fleet. 

In January 2023, Time Magazine reported that Himars had been particularly effective in the fight against Russia and were being used to attack Russian supply and ammunition depots as well as infrastructure and logistics. 

Patriot air defense systems have been just as crucial as Ukraine’s Himars in the fight to defeat Russia and they’ve had great success protecting the skies of the country from all kinds of aerial attacks and bombardments. 

"The Patriot has performed fairly spectacularly in Ukraine," Justin Bronk, an expert on airpower at the London-based Royal United Services Institute think tank explained to Business Insider about the Patriot system.

Newsweek noted that reports suggest a Russian missile strike may have destroyed two Patriot launchers that were traveling in a Ukrainian convoy in early March. However, the reports have yet to be confirmed. 

Shoigu also made a number of other bold claims about Ukrainian losses since the start of the new year and said that Kyiv lost 27 American-supplied Bradley Fighting Vehicles and five German-made Leopard tanks. 

The losses of the Bradley Fighting Vehicles may be plausible since they were the types of vehicles used by Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade during the defense of Avdiivka from Russia’s push to take the city. 

Shoigu also reported that Ukraine has suffered at least 71,000 casualties since January 2024. However, the accuracy of this number is more difficult to judge since neither side has provided up-to-date casualty figures in the war. 

Newsweek also pointed out that the casualty number quoted by Shoigu “is very similar to the Russian casualty figures put forward by Ukraine's military — Kyiv's tally puts Russian casualties so far this year at approximately 72,000.”