Russia has spent $200 billion on full-scale war in Ukraine, suffered 700,000 casualties, Austin says

Russia has spent at least $200 billion on its war with Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a conference on Dec. 7 in California.

Moscow also lost more soldiers in the first year of the war than in any other of its conflicts since World War II combined, Austin added. He said it has been losing at least 1,000 troops a day in recent months.

"Russia has paid a staggering price for (President Vladimir) Putin's folly. Russia has suffered at least 700,000 casualties since February 2022. It's squandered more than $200 billion," Austin said.

These figures are close to those provided by the Ukrainian military, which estimated Moscow's losses at over 750,000 as of Dec. 9, including killed and wounded. Russia has not publicly disclosed its casualties, claiming only they are lower than the Ukrainian ones.

Recently, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had suffered 43,000 soldiers killed and 370,000 wounded.

Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers in action since start of invasion, Zelensky says

This figure contrasts a claim made earlier the same day on Dec. 8 by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who wrote on his Truth Social platform that Ukrainian military losses had reached “400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians.”

The Kyiv IndependentMartina Sapio

"Russian losses in just the first year of Putin's war of choice seem to have been more than Moscow's losses in all of its conflicts since World War II—combined," Austin said. Russia allegedly suffered record losses in November, which coincided with an increasingly rapid advance in Ukraine's east.

The Pentagon chief also cautioned against an isolationist U.S. foreign policy, a turn many experts expect after Donald Trump takes office in January 2025.

"The starting point and cornerstone of our foreign policy is our alliance and partnership with our fellow democracies…So here is the stark military fact: our allies and partners are huge force multipliers," he said.

U.S. aid for Ukraine hangs in the air as Trump vowed during his campaign that he would put an end to the war in 24 hours upon his reelection. He also repeatedly hinted that one of his plans to achieve that would be reducing aid for Ukraine to force it to the negotiating table and cede territory for peace.

In an interview aired on NBC on Dec. 8, when asked whether Ukraine should prepare for reduced U.S. assistance, Trump responded, "Possibly, sure."

Following a meeting with Zelensky in France, Trump said on social media that Russia had suffered 600,000 casualties, while Ukraine lost 400,000 injured and wounded.

Zelensky ready to ‘make a deal’ on the war in Ukraine, Trump says after meeting in Paris

Trump and Zelensky met in Paris as world leaders gathered in the city for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Kyiv IndependentMartina Sapio