Russia death toll in Ukraine war crosses 500,000, says UK defence chief
More than half a million Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, a senior British defence official said on Friday, as fighting and drone attacks continued on both sides. The dead are part of 1.5 million Russian casualties in the war, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, Chief of the UK's Defence Staff, said.
The estimate broadly matches figures published by the Ukrainian military. There was no immediate comment from Russian officials. At the same time, Russian drone attacks hit civilian targets in Ukraine, while Kyiv pressed ahead with long-range strikes inside Russia.
Knighton told reporters that Russia's bigger army is struggling to make headway on the battlefield, with Western officials and analysts saying its rate of advance has slowed significantly this year. He said Russia's armed forces have also lost an "enormous" amount of military equipment, including more than 10,000 armoured and protected vehicles, close to 3,000 air defence and artillery systems, and more than 370 aircraft and helicopters. He did not give any figures for Ukraine's losses. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives regular updates on battlefield losses.
In Kyiv, Russian drones targeted roadside gas stations for a second straight day on Friday, in what Ukrainian officials said was part of a wider effort to unsettle civilians. The attacks hit two Ukrnafta stations, killing two people and wounding six at one of them, according to the prosecutor's office.
Ukrainian officials said strikes on urban gas stations have intensified in recent months, mostly in regions near the front line in the east and south. They said the campaign has also included attacks on food distribution hubs, at times leaving some supermarket shelves bare in the capital. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X late on Thursday, "Russia is systematically attacking places where it knows people will be spending their time going about their daily lives, seeking to maximize casualties, spread fear, and put pressure on Ukrainian society." Authorities have urged residents not to stay near gas stations and other exposed infrastructure during air raid alerts. Ukraine is also trying to urgently strengthen its air defences, and on Thursday it received pledges of more support from Canada.
In central Ukraine, Pavlohrad observed an official day of mourning on Friday for five residents killed near shopping malls in broad daylight by Russian drones the previous day. Sybiha said 67 people were wounded in that attack. In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a 32-year-old woman and her 10-year-old son were wounded in an overnight Russian drone strike, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. The drones hit a nine-storey apartment block and a shopping mall. The agency said efforts to put out the fires were slowed by the threat of repeat strikes, forcing firefighters to stop work and take shelter.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has expanded its own long-range drone campaign deep inside Russia, putting pressure on air defences across the country. On Thursday, Ukraine's military said it had hit a refinery more than 3,000 kilometres away in Siberia as Kyiv tries to damage Russia's oil sector. Ukrainian strikes have also caused fuel shortages in Russia, one of the world's biggest energy producers.
A report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said Russia's oil product exports fell to record lows in August and that Moscow was importing fuel from South Korea and India. The Finland-registered nonprofit said on Thursday, "Ukrainian strikes on Russia's refining capacity have turned tables on the world's once largest oil product exporter to see them start importing fuels, with imports surging to a record 172,000 metric tonnes in August - more than seven times the previous monthly high." Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences intercepted 777 Ukrainian drones overnight from Thursday to Friday over 16 Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the waters of the Azov and Caspian seas.
Local officials in Russia said two people were killed and three others were wounded overnight in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Tula region, south of Moscow. Russian independent outlet Astra reported that a Ukrainian drone strike also started a fire at the Saratov oil refinery in southwestern Russia, a facility Kyiv has targeted repeatedly and last hit in early August. Online retailer Ozon said its logistics facility in the same city was struck and set on fire by a Ukrainian drone, though no casualties were reported. Ozon said it is a competitor to Wildberries, whose facilities have also been targeted by Ukraine. Overall, the latest developments showed heavy Russian losses in the war and a continuing escalation of drone attacks on civilian and industrial targets on both sides.
