Moscow March 2 2022: Russia’s defence ministry has given its first figures for casualties sustained during its invasion of Ukraine.
It says 498 Russian soldiers have been killed and 1,597 wounded so far, according to Russian media reports.
The claim is significantly less than Ukraine’s assessment of Russian casualties – Kyiv claims it has killed 5,840 Russian troops.
Russia has also claimed that more than 2,870 Ukrainian service members have been killed and about 3,700 wounded. Kyiv has not given any figures.
The BBC cannot independently verify either the Russian or Ukrainian claims, but the UK Ministry of Defence believes that Moscow’s forces have suffered heavy losses.
Earlier Ukraine’s emergency services said more than 2,000 civilians and 10 emergency services personnel had been killed so far.
