November was horrible month for Russian troops

An analysis from the UK Ministry of Defence indicates that Russian forces experienced their highest casualty figures in November 2024, marking it as the most deadly month in the ongoing conflict to date.

In a December 5th post on X, the UK Ministry of Defence reported that November 2024 was likely “the most costly month of the war for Russia.”

The average Russian daily number of soldiers killed or wounded throughout November reached a staggeringly high figure of 1,523, which was a new record in the conflict for Moscow. 

“This is the third straight month that Russian Forces have sustained new war high average daily losses,” the defence ministry's report explained. 

According to loss figures from the Ukrainian General Staff quoted by the UK Defence Ministry, Moscow suffered a total of 45,680 casualties in November.

In October, the previous most costly month for Moscow, Russian casualties totaled 41,980, a figure resoundingly beaten by the Kremlin’s November casualties. 

“November was the fifth straight month that Russian Forces have suffered an increase in monthly total losses,” the defense ministry report added. However, this outcome isn’t a surprise. 

On November 29th, Russia reached a terrible new casualty milestone. For the first time since Putin ordered the full-sale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces lost over 2,000 troops in a single day. 

According to casualty figures published by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, in the 24-hour period between November 28th and 29th, Russia lost 2,030 military personnel in Ukraine. This pushed Russian single-day losses to a new all-time high.

The news of Moscow’s high loss rate from November 28th to the 29th came just days after the Russian forces broke the record of a previous all-time high that was set all the way back in May 2024. 

Russia suffered a string of devastating, casualty-ridden days in late November according to the Ukrainian General Staff's daily reports on Russian equipment and military personnel losses in Ukraine. 

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian General has been recording the Kremlin’s casualty losses in a report that is updated daily.

Reports from November 25th onwards suggested that Russia lost well over a thousand troops a day, coming close to hitting previous single-day all-time high losses.  

On November 25th, Russia reportedly lost 1,610 soldiers, followed by 1,480 on the 26th and 1,580 on the 27th for a combined three-day total loss of 4,670 soldiers. 

While the previous numbers may seem high, Russian forces recently suffered their most losses on November 11th when the Kremlin lost 1,950 troops in a single day, hitting a new all-time high. 

On November 10th, Russia had just hit its new highest single-day losses after suffering a total of 1,770 casualties. That put Moscow’s combined two-day losses at 3,720 troops. 

Russia’s previous single-day losses occurred on May 14th when the Kremlin lost 1,740 in a month which proved to be one of the deadliest of the war for Russian forces. 

According to the British Ministry of Defense, Russia lost on average 1,262 troops every day during the month, making it the deadliest of the conflict until that point in the war. 

Russia’s May casualty record has since been surpassed. Both September and October proved to be exceptionally deadly months for Russian Forces operating in Ukraine, as reported by the UK Ministry of Defense. 

In September, Russia lost 1,271 soldiers per day, something defense ministry analysts reported was likely due to the extension of the fighting to fronts in Kursk and Kharkiv.

“Russia's casualty rate will likely continue to average above 1,000 a day for the rest of 2024 despite the onset of winter,” the UK Defence Ministry intelligence report added. 

October has proved to be the deadliest month for Russian soldiers to date according to the United Kingdom's Chief of the Defence Staff Tony Radakin, who revealed to BBC News on November 10th that Russia had lost 1,500 troops on average each day in October. 

"Russia is paying an extraordinary price for Putin's invasion" Radkin explained, adding that Mosce was “about to suffer 700,000 people killed or wounded” in the conflict. 

It’s important to point out that the Ukrainian General Staff does not report numbers for Russian soldiers killed in the battle versus those only wounded or captured. 

How many Russian troops have been permanently taken out of the fight is unknown, but Radkin's comments made it clear that Ukraine’s projected loss figures are likely close to accurate. 

On November 10th, the same day as Radakin’s interview, the Ukrainian General Staff reported Russia had lost 708,890 military personnel since the conflict began in February 2022. 

As of December 5th, Russia has reportedly suffered 748,950 losses in the war according to the Ukrainian General Staff. How high Moscow's losses will go before the end of the year has yet to be seen.