Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, stated that Russia has lost 54 tanks in the ongoing counteroffensive in Ukraine, which is a rare admission of the military losses by the Kremlin.

Ukrainian officials and analysts are reporting that Russia has annexed areas in the east and south of the country, and Ukrainian troops have spent months planning a concerted push against Russian forces.

Kyiv has revealed very few operational details, although shortly after the beginning of the counteroffensive, Ukraine confirmed that Russian forces had been crushed in their effort to push back in the contested areas. However, Moscow stated that Ukraine’s counteroffensive began on June 4.

During the preceding day, the Defense Ministry of Russia stated that Ukraine had suffered the loss of 20 tanks. In retaliatory confrontations, the Defense Minister of Russia, Sergei Shoigu, announced on June 6th that Russia had encountered the loss of 15 tanks and nine armored vehicles. On Tuesday, the leader of the Kremlin informed Russian military bloggers and journalists that the troops of Moscow had lost a total of 54 tanks while discussing the ongoing counteroffensive, which was an unexpected remark concerning the military losses of Russia.

Putin claimed that some of these 54 tanks would be restored and fixed, asserting that Ukraine had misplaced 160 tanks and over 360 armored vehicles. According to the Associated Press, an unidentified U.S. Official stated that the comments of the Russian leader were “inaccurate.”

Putin described the conflict as a “war,” which is Russia’s official term for the specific military operation. Following the enactment of this legislation, even Putin himself faced punishment calls in December. The Defense Ministry strictly controlled the release of casualty numbers or any information related to the ongoing conflict to prevent the dissemination of unverified information. Russia took immediate action to criminalize the spread of “fake” news at the beginning of the war.

Since June 4th, Russia has lost a total of 114 tanks, as reported by the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, as verified independently by Newsweek.

In the past few weeks, there has been a mutual exchange of claims between both parties, asserting that the opposing side has experienced substantial casualties and the loss of military resources. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have suffered severe losses in terms of personnel and equipment. Conversely, Ukraine’s General Staff declared on Wednesday that Moscow’s forces are currently in a state of panic and enduring excessive losses in personnel.

“On Tuesday, Putin stated that our losses are ten times lower than those of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

Kyiv stated that Russia had been deprived of access to 3,943 tanks and 7,653 armored personnel carriers since the commencement of a large-scale conflict. In contrast, Russia claimed that Ukraine had suffered a combined loss of 9,939 tanks and armored vehicles since February 2022. Neither Ukraine nor Russia discloses official records of their respective military casualties.

According to Oryx, four Leopard tanks provided by Western countries have been rendered ineffective. Ukraine has suffered a loss of 528 tanks during the same time frame. Nonetheless, the actual number might be higher and it doesn’t include other categories of armored military vehicles. As per this tally, Ukraine has seized 544 tanks and annihilated 1,271 tanks. Oryx, the Dutch open-source platform, states that Russia has lost a total of 2,041 tanks since February 24, 2022. Out of these, 1,271 tanks were destroyed and 544 were captured by Ukraine.

In mid-February 2023, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated that around 50 percent of Russia’s essential battle tanks, which Moscow had lost during nine months of intense conflict in Ukraine, had been recovered. Furthermore, this percentage increased to 40 percent of their pre-war tank fleet.

This coincided with comments made by the former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, who said that the donations of Western tanks to Ukraine, including various armaments of modern production, would increase the needed response to Russia.

Experts say that Ukraine is still in the initial phase of its reconnaissance counteroffensive, where Russia’s defenses will be tested by probing the front lines.

The Institute for the Study of War think tank, based in Washington, reported on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces have persistently achieved territorial advancements in the southern and eastern regions of the nation.

During his latest evening address, Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, mentioned that there had been advancements in different fields along the front.

General Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s highest-ranking military officer, stated in a social media post on Tuesday, “We have achieved some notable accomplishments, as we are executing our strategies and progressing.”