34,000 Russian Soldiers Have Died In Ukraine War, Ukrainian Armed Forces Reveal

The number of Russian combat losses since the start of the invasion of Ukraine has exceeded 34,000, according to the Ukrainian military.

Russia has lost 34,100 troops between the start of the invasion on Feb. 24 and Tuesday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement.

Russian losses also included 1,496 tanks, 3,606 armored fighting vehicles, 216 aircraft, 181 helicopters, 14 naval vessels and 752 artillery systems, among others. International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

Most of the recent losses were from the directions of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, two cities located in the partially Russian-occupied region of Donetsk, according to the statement.

The Russian government's latest official casualty figures from the war, which were released in late March, claimed that Russia's dead and wounded numbered 1,351 and 3,825, respectively.

In contrast, the U.S.' most recent assessment said that 16,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the invasion, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov.

Russian investigative outlet iStories was able to verify the names of 3,756 dead Russian soldiers as of Tuesday. The figure only reflects publicly known cases.

More than 80% of the verified deaths were aged between 18 and 35, while the average age of the fatalities was 29 years old.

The Russian army has experienced logistical problems and poor morale among its ranks in the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia allegedly treated its soldiers as "cannon fodder," and Russian commanders have been accused of leaving their men without food.

Russian soldiers allegedly have resorted to eating dogs, looting grocery stores and taking supplies from Ukrainian farms over the course of the war, Ukrainian officials alleged.

Troops have tried engaging in sham marriages, asking for help from human rights organizations and inflicting self-harm all in an attempt to flee the conflict, according to the Security Service of Ukraine.

Some servicemembers even deliberately destroyed their own equipment, such as tanks, to avoid fighting, while others threatened their commanders when they were ordered to join the frontlines.

Under Russian military rules, troops who refuse to fight in the war can be dismissed, but they cannot be prosecuted.