The Russian defence ministry has given an update on its military casualties – for only the second time – claiming 1,351 of its soldiers have been killed and 3,825 wounded, news agency Ria Novosti reports.
Ukrainian military sources have previously estimated that as many as 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, though this figure may include injured as well as dead. US intelligence suggests half that number may have died.
The first update from the Russian defence ministry on casualties was on 2 March, and stated that 498 servicemen had died during the invasion.
Intriguingly, on 21 March staunchly pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) published an article quoting the defence ministry as saying 9,861 Russian servicemen had been killed in the conflict.
Later, part of that article disappeared and KP’s editor told the BBC the information had been the result of a hack.
BBC