Disaster for Putin as more Russian troops killed in October than any month in Ukraine war

By Richard Ashmore, Senior News Reporter

Ukraine's military said Russia had suffered more losses in October than at any time in the war (Image: Getty )

Russia lost more troops fighting in Ukraine last month than at any time since President Vladimir Putin ordered the illegal invasion to begin in February 2022.

The grim statistics have been released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence which claims October saw the Kremlin suffer the highest number of casualties, either killed or wounded, or the entire war.

The Defence of Ukraine X account posted that 41,980 Russian personnel had been put out of action during the run up to a month ending with Halloween.

The frightening statistics, if divided by the number of days in October, would mean 1,354 Russian soldiers were either killed or wounded every day.

Posting on X the Ukrainian MoD wrote: "We make the occupiers pay the highest price for every metre of our land."

A Russian soldier walks through the ruins of a town in Ukraine (Image: AP )

"Forty-one thousand nine hundred and eighty Russian personnel losses in October 2024. It's the highest monthly number since the beginning of the invasion."

The British Forces Broadcasting Service reports the second-highest casualty month for Putin's forces was also in 2024, with Ukrainian sources suggesting 38,940 soldiers were either killed, wounded or captured in May.

Furthermore, Ukraine claims 923 Russian armoured fighting vehicles were destroyed in October 2024, and that the overall Russian losses stand at 696,410.

Ukrainian soldiers fortifying the front line (Image: Getty )

In a statement today (Saturday), the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that protests had begun in Russia from the families of soldiers sent to the front line in Ukraine.

The MoD said: "Putin promised Russian conscripts would not be used on the frontlines when he launched his full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine. He did not keep that promise.

"Russian mothers and wives are protesting against how their conscripted sons and husbands are being used. They peacefully protest at great personal risk, having been labelled 'foreign agents' by the Russian Ministry of Justice and facing the threat of imprisonment.

"Putin has recently signed a decree demanding 133,000 more Russian men are conscripted into the Russian Armed Forces by 31st December."