Two weeks after Russia began invading Ukraine, the most serious military conflict in Europe since World War II caused staggering losses of personnel and materiel, showing the intensity of the fighting.
The Russians may have had thousands of soldiers killed
While the available figures are debatable, Russia, which has invested more than 150,000 troops in the battle, is undoubtedly suffering heavy losses.
In the only official Russian report released on March 2, Moscow reported that nearly 500 soldiers were killed and 1,600 wounded in its ranks, or an average of about 80 soldiers killed and more than 260 wounded every day. These numbers are likely to be underestimated.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 Russians were killed in the 14-day clashes, or 153 to 307 a day.
According to moscow's declared ratio of three wounds and one death, the Russian army estimated between 6,000 and 12,000 wounded.
By comparison, about 4,000 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2021. In Afghanistan, the conflict against the Taliban lasted two decades, resulting in the deaths of 2,500 U.S. soldiers.
France has been fighting jihadist groups in Africa's Sahel region since 2013, losing 53 soldiers over eight years.
Pierre Razu, academic director of the Mediterranean Strategic Research Foundation (FMES), commented that with the conflict in Ukraine, "the world is rediscovering high-intensity fighting".
In Ukraine, the casualty toll is expected to rise if the Russians attack major cities, where the Ukrainian army will have a significant tactical advantage.
Gustav Gresser, a researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Research Centre, said: "If the Ukrainian military continues to inflict casualties on Russian troops at the current rate, Putin will have to start considering a viable exit strategy."
The Kiev side did not account for its losses. Moscow claimed in early March that 2,800 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed.
Hundreds of tanks were destroyed
Tanks in flames, destroyed tanks, trucks abandoned on the side of the road.... Numerous images show that military equipment has been severely damaged.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's assessment of Russian damage may be exaggerated: 81 helicopters, 317 tanks, 1,000 armored vehicles, 120 artillery, 28 anti-aircraft vehicles, 56 rocket launchers (Grad type), 60 tank trucks, 7 combat and tactical drones, and 3 ships.
A website that only documents ukrainian and Russian material losses on the battlefield with pictures or videos reported wednesday that Russia lost 151 tanks, nearly 300 armored vehicles, 10 fighter jets and 11 helicopters, while the Ukrainians lost 46 tanks, less than 100 armored vehicles, 5 fighter jets and 2 ships.
Hundreds of civilians were killed and two million were forced into exile
The conflict that erupted on 24 February has created one of the continent's worst humanitarian crises. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 2 million people have fled abroad to seek asylum, mainly in Poland. Europe is expected to host 5 million refugees.
Locally, Russian forces have stepped up bombing of several Ukrainian cities, potentially increasing the death toll of trapped civilians. According to the latest Statistics from the United Nations, at least 474 civilians have been killed and 861 wounded since the beginning of the war, a number that the United Nations stresses may be much lower than it actually is.
According to CIA Director William Burns, the Russian military is "likely" redoubling its efforts and trying to crush Ukrainian forces without considering civilian casualties.