Ukraine claims more than a THOUSAND Russian troops have been killed on battlefield in one day

More than 1,000 Russian military personnel have been killed on the battlefield in the past 24-hours, Ukraine claims.

Kyiv updated its tally of Russian military deaths by 1,030 for yesterday, adding to its total of 133,190 since the war began in February last year. 

This would be the first time that such a deadly and catastrophic blow has been dealt to Putin’s forces in a single day since the initial invasion.

Brutal fighting around Bakhmut near the Donbas region is thought to have contributed to the rise in causalities, with both Kyiv and Moscow escalating their campaigns.

Ukrainian military also said 25 Russian tanks have been destroyed in the past two days to add to a total of 3,245 since February last year.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces announced the latest figures on social media alongside a video that appeared to show a Russian tank being destroyed by Ukrainian’s 92nd Mechanized Brigade.

Black smoke poured out of the Russian T-80BV tank following the missile’s detonation.

The video also appeared to show the blasted tank catch fire.

Another released video showed a group of Ukrainian military personnel firing at Russian forces.

The group, reportedly from the 241th Territorial Defense Brigade, used a series of Bulgarian RTB-7MA thermobaric round – anti-tank grenades – to fire across the battlefield.

Russia has also claimed it inflicted 6,500 Ukrainian casualties in the month of January. 

It is not possible to verify the figures reported by Ukraine or Russia. Tallies of enemy casualties from either side have typically been seen as unreliable, and neither side has offered explicit details of the latest battles.

It is now almost a year since the war began. Following Ukraine’s relatively unexpected success over the past 12 months, Moscow is now attempting to regain the initiative as brutal fighting rages in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Donbas.

Kyiv is holding out for the arrival of Western tanks and subsequent training for its personnel to be able to mount a counter-offensive later this year in the spring.

After Russia failed to capture the Ukrainian capital last year and lost ground in the second half of 2022, Moscow is now making full use of hundreds of thousands of troops it called up in its first mobilisation since World War Two.

Kyiv and the West say Russia has been pouring troops and mercenaries into eastern Ukraine in recent weeks in hopes of being able to claim new gains around the time of the first anniversary of its full-scale invasion later this month.

The last few weeks have seen Russia boast its first gains for half a year. But the progress has still been incremental, with Moscow yet to capture a single major population centre in its winter campaign despite thousands of dead.

Fighting has focused for months around the Ukrainian-held Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk province, a city with a pre-war population of around 75,000. Russia has made clear progress towards encircling it from both the north and south, but Kyiv says its garrison is holding fast.

Moscow has also launched an assault further south against Vuhledar, a Ukrainian-held bastion on high ground at the strategic intersection between the eastern and southern front lines.