Pentagon: 70,000 to 80,000 Russian soldiers killed or wounded since war began

The Russian army's losses in Ukraine in killed and wounded since the beginning of the war amounted to 70-80 thousand people. This estimate was voiced by the US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs Colin Kahl, CNN reports .

"There is reason to believe that the Russians have lost 70 or 80 thousand people in less than six months (of the war)," Kahl said. He emphasized that this refers to approximate losses in both killed and wounded.

Kahl called the losses "significant," noting that Russia had not achieved any of the goals stated by President Vladimir Putin in invading Ukraine.

During a war, it is impossible to quickly verify information about what is happening in the combat zone.

• At the end of July, CIA Director William Burns stated that Russia's losses in Ukraine could have amounted to 15,000 servicemen killed and about 45,000 wounded. British Defense Minister Ben Wallace stated at the end of April that 15,000 Russians had died in Ukraine.
• Based on open data , Mediazona and the BBC confirmed by August 8 that 5,424 soldiers and officers from Russia had died in Ukraine.
• According to information from the Ukrainian General Staff as of August 8, more than 42 thousand Russian soldiers have died since the beginning of the war.
• Russia has only officially reported its military losses twice since its invasion of Ukraine. On March 2, the Russian Defense Ministry reported 498 dead and 1,597 wounded, and on March 25, 1,351 dead and 3,825 wounded.