(TheRedWire.com) – In recent days, there’s been a dispute over how many Russian soldiers were killed in Ukraine as the Russian Army bogs down. Reports suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin is angry about the lack of progress after being told the Ukrainians would welcome him with open arms. That hasn’t happened. Instead, Ukrainians have met the Russian military with stiff resistance.
Since the invasion began on February 27, the United States government estimates Ukrainian forces have killed over 7,000 Russian soldiers. Ukraine officials claim the number of Russian losses is around 14,700. On Monday, March 21, pro-Putin daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reported 9,861 Russian soldiers killed and 16,153 injured. So, in the fog of war, which figure is correct?
A Russian tabloid on Monday deleted a report that said President Vladimir Putin's forces in Ukraine were nearing 10,000 killed in action.
— Newsmax (@newsmax) March 22, 2022
The Russian paper said its report was wrong and deleted the story. An editor of the tabloid claimed someone had hacked its website and inserted fake information, which the tabloid removed immediately. The original article cited the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Defense as the source for the figure of 9,861 Russian soldiers killed in action. Oligarch Grigory Berezkin owns the Komsomolskaya Pravda and two other newspapers. Estimates say 6 million readers in Russia read the papers every day.
The last official number of soldiers killed in Ukraine reported by Moscow was 498 on March 2.
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