In Their Attempts to Capture Pokrovsk, the Russian Army Has Lost Nearly 600 Tanks—More than the Total Some European Armies Have

The Russian army continues its offensive on the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, expending substantial resources to seize new territory. Civilians remain in Pokrovsk, but authorities are urging everyone to leave: due to constant shelling, all social services have been evacuated, and gas supply has been cut off. Living in Pokrovsk under such conditions during winter is dangerous.

To advance, Russia has committed immense resources. Ukrainian military expert Volodymyr Datsenko gathered information from open sources to estimate the cost of this campaign for the Russian army. The numbers are staggering.

Manpower Losses

Every fifth casualty since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion is attributed to the Pokrovsk campaign. Russia has lost over 150,000 soldiers—killed or wounded—in this operation. Overall, Russia’s total losses in the war exceed 750,000.

In its attempts to advance, Russia has increasingly resorted to infantry assault tactics, which require significant numbers of troops. As a result, Russian losses during the 2024 offensives have nearly doubled compared to the early stages of the invasion. Today, Russia is losing over 2,000 soldiers daily.

The total loss of 150,000 troops in the Pokrovsk campaign is phenomenal—comparable to the size of the Russian force that initially invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Back then, Russia had planned to conquer Ukraine in three days with a massive blitzkrieg.

As of now, only three European armies exceed this figure: France (210,000), the UK (190,000), and Germany (183,000). Italy’s armed forces stand at 165,000. Other countries have smaller armies, such as Greece (142,000) and Spain (120,000). In other words, Russia has lost more troops in the Pokrovsk campaign alone than the total personnel of most European armies. And the losses continue: since December 2024, Russia has lost over 20,000 soldiers killed or wounded.

Military Equipment

Russia’s equipment losses are even more staggering. Visually confirmed data shows that during the Pokrovsk offensive alone, Russia lost 582 tanks, while Ukraine’s losses were five times smaller.

Additionally, 1,220 armored vehicles, 110 trucks, and 90 artillery systems have been destroyed or damaged.

These losses are greater than Germany’s total losses during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II.

To put this into perspective, Russia can produce about 200 new tanks annually (15–20 units per month). This means it cannot replace its losses through new production, and these tank losses are just from one part of the frontline, not the overall war.

Escalation of Forces

In July 2024, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that around 520,000 Russian troops were deployed in Ukraine, with plans to increase this number to 690,000 by year-end. These plans have shifted.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as of December 2024, approximately 800,000 Russian troops are in Ukraine:

“This means the entire army of this pseudo-empire is fighting against the Ukrainian people. […] Ukraine’s resilience determines the strength of Russia’s army. If Ukraine falls, Putin will return to Syria, Africa, and many other countries,” he said.

At the onset of the full-scale invasion, Russia redeployed its most combat-ready forces from Syria, including Wagner PMC units, which suffered 40,000 casualties in the Battle of Bakhmut. This contributed to the swift collapse of Syrian forces loyal to dictator Bashar al-Assad.

The buildup of infantry indicates that Russia disregards its human losses and continues throwing soldiers into “meat-grinder” assaults. Inside Russia, this goes largely unnoticed, with no protests.