Remember when Russia lost an enormous amount of troops during one week of fighting in Ukraine?

In May 2024, Russia suffered one of the costliest weeks in Ukraine. More than 8,000 soldiers were allegedly killed or wounded in action as a result of a new offensive push across the frontlines.

On May 12, Newsweek’s Ellie Cook reported Moscow lost 8,030 troops in the fighting that had occurred over the preceding seven days of fighting on the frontlines based on figures reported by the Ukrainian General Staff.

Cook noted Newsweek couldn't verify the claims made by the Ukrainian General Staff but the group's casualty count when it came to those killed and wounded on the Russian had been close to third-party estimates at the time. 

On April 27th, the UK's dual Minister of State and the Armed Forces Leo Docherty told parliament at the time that the Kremlin's losses in Ukraine had topped 450,000 according to the UK Defence Journal. 

“We estimate that approximately 450,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have deserted,” Docherty said about the losses.  

Docherty went on to add that the figure of personnel serving in Russian private military companies was not known, but his figure was in line with the Ukrainian General Staff. 

The Ukrainian General Staff reported on April 27th that total Russian troop losses since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on February 24th, 2022 had reached 465,054. 

As of May 14th Russia’s total personnel losses since the beginning of the invasion were estimated to be 485,430 and were closing in on 500,000, which will be a very grim milestone that has since been exceeded.  

More concerning than the over 8,000 soldiers lost over the course of just one week in May might have been the news that Russia had allegedly lost more than 1,700 personnel in a single day of fighting. 

May 13th saw the Ukrainian General Staff report that Moscow lost 1,740 troops over the course of a day. However, this information wasn't verified at the time, though it held the record for the highest single day of Russian casualties until that record was broken in November 2024. 

According to The Kyiv Independent, on November 11th, Russia lost 1,770 troops over a 24-hour period based on figures that were projected by the Ukrainian General Staff. On that day, the Ukrainian General Staff noted that total Russian losses in the conflict had reached 710,660.

As of November 24th, total Russian military personnel losses in the war as estimated by the Ukrainian General Staff stand at an alarming 730,740.

One reason that might explain why Russia suffered such high losses in May 2024 could be the string of renewed offensives Moscow launched across important sections of the war. 

Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast was still seeing heavy fighting at the time in May according to Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group of Forces in the area. 

“The situation in Chasiv Yar has not changed. Active fighting continues day and night. The enemy has not had any territorial success in recent days,” Voloshyn said on a 24/7 national newscast according to a translation from Ukrainska Pravda. 

“They continue to destroy Chasiv Yar with artillery and guided aerial bombs, dropping them on the city and nearby settlements,” Voloshyn added, noting Russia was probing the area for weak points. 

Russia had also launched a new offensive into Kharkiv Oblast in early May that saw intense fighting as Russian forces opened a new front in the war that sucked up equipment and personnel at a shockingly high rate.

Regardless of why Russian losses were high in May, the casualty rate has continued to remain high for Moscow. October 2024 has proven to be the Kremlin's worst month for losses in Ukraine the UK Chief of the Defence Staff Tony Radakin told BBC News in a November 10th interview.