Russian Artillery Losses in Ukraine Pass Grim Milestone

Russian forces have now lost more than 20,000 artillery systems in the more than two and a half years of grueling land warfare, according to figures published by Kyiv’s military.

Moscow has lost a total of 20,013 artillery pieces since February 2022, when the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s General Staff said on Thursday. A total of 58 artillery systems were destroyed in the war effort since early on Wednesday, Ukraine said.

Newsweek could not independently verify these numbers, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Kyiv and Moscow lean heavily on artillery in what is the largest land war in Europe since World War II. Ukraine uses a variety of artillery systems, including the U.S.-donated High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, also known as HIMARS, and different types of howitzers.

Kyiv has developed its Bohdana howitzer, which fires the same 155mm shells used by NATO-made weapons. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Kyiv was producing just shy of 20 Bohdana howitzers each month.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that Ukraine had lost almost 17,000 artillery pieces and mortars, on top of 1,482 multiple launch rocket systems. HIMARS fall under this category.

These tallies could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian military has been contacted for comment.

Artillery is typically described as responsible for a large percentage of casualties along the hundreds of miles of front lines snaking through eastern and southern Ukraine.

Artillery fire can be used to target enemy positions and overcome defenses, while shielding advancing forces from these very defenses. It is often used alongside infantry attacks or mechanized assaults, where troops have a range of armored vehicles to move around the battlefield.

“Artillery is very important, as we have seen throughout the war,” Marina Miron, a postdoctoral researcher with the War Studies department at King’s College London, previously told Newsweek. Artillery is crucial in sections of the front line that are relatively static, without significant advances on either side, Miron said.

While artillery systems have featured high on Kyiv’s wish list of supplies from its Western backers, the priority in the first part of this year has been providing the ammunition to keep the systems operational and useful.

Earlier this year, Ukraine was firing an estimated fifth of the number of artillery rounds Russia was able to leverage against Ukrainian troops. Many Western countries have doubled down on efforts to produce more ammunition, but sourcing munitions quickly and consistently is still a problem for Ukraine.