480 Russian Soldiers Die In One Day; Total War Deaths Hit 88,380

Russia lost 480 military personnel in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine within a single day as total Russian casualties in the conflict surpassed 88,000, according to data provided by the Ukrainian military.

Combat losses among Russian personnel since the war began in late February numbered 88,380 as of Tuesday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its most recent casualty report.

The previous casualty report from Monday put the figure at 87,900.

In addition to the soldiers, Russia also lost a total of 2,911 tanks, 5,866 armored fighting vehicles and 280 aircraft, among other pieces of military equipment, nine months into the conflict, according to the Tuesday report.

Russia's Defense Ministry last provided an official death toll from the invasion in September, when it claimed that 5,937 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Gen. Mark Milley, the most senior military officer in the U.S. Armed Forces, estimated that "well over" 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the ongoing conflict.

The Ukrainians have "probably" suffered a similar number of losses, according to Milley.

"There has been a tremendous amount of suffering, human suffering," the military official said at an event in New York.

Russia was able to mobilize 318,000 soldiers to fight in Ukraine amid reports of its losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed earlier this month.

However, Russia has been accused of rushing untrained and ill-equipped soldiers to the front line.

"They are giving them at best basics and at worst nothing and throwing them into combat, which suggests that these guys [Russian soldiers] are just literally cannon fodder," William Alberque from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a United Kingdom-based think tank, said.

Russia's weapon supplies may be running low, security experts suggested. The country also lacks military trainers, according to the British Ministry of Defense.

The shortage of trainers coupled with the haste with which it started its mobilization will result in many drafted troops being deployed to the front line with minimal relevant preparation, the U.K. ministry claimed.

Russia's losses reportedly prompted public outcry from surviving soldiers and family members of recently mobilized troops, who claimed their units were led to slaughter in poorly planned operations.

In a recent meeting with the mothers of Russian soldiers, Putin compared the military casualties in Ukraine with annual deaths in Russia that were caused by road accidents and alcohol.

"In our country, about 30,000 people die in road accidents (per year). About the same number die from alcohol. We are all mortal, and someday all of us will leave this world. It is inevitable," Putin said.