How Many Aircraft Has Russia Lost in the Ukraine War?

Russia has lost 77 aircraft in Ukraine since it invaded the country on February 24, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A statement by the ministry on Monday said that Russia had also lost 90 helicopters since fighting broke out.

It also said that more than 12,000 Russian military personnel had been killed and 389 tanks had been seized from Russian forces.

Military website Oryx has also provided figures on military equipment that has been seized, damaged or abandoned. The website monitors the destruction of military equipment through open-source reports, such as social media, and each loss needs to be backed up with photographic evidence.

The website's numbers on aircraft that have been captured or downed by Ukrainian armed forces are much lower: it estimates only 13 Russian aircraft have been lost since the war began. It says Ukraine has lost nine.

Russia has not provided up-to-date numbers on war casualties and loss of military equipment, including aircraft. Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign ministry for comment.

Moscow has stepped up attacks recently and is widening its military operation to Western Ukraine, including to the city of Lviv, that was thought initially to be a safe part of the country. On Sunday, it attacked a military base less than 15 miles from Ukraine's border with Poland, a NATO member country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier on Monday warned of a Russian threat to NATO "homes" after the strike near the Polish border.

Polish President Andrezej Duda told the BBC in an interview that aired on Sunday that NATO could be dragged into the conflict if Russian President Vladimir Putin opted to utilize weapons of mass destruction.

"As we say in Poland, using a little bit of an English expression, if he uses any weapons of mass destruction then this will be a game changer in the whole thing.

"For sure, NATO and its leaders, led by the United States, will have to sit at the table and will really have to think seriously about what to do.

"Because when it starts to be dangerous, not only for Europe, not only for our region, but for the whole world."

U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to defend "every inch" of NATO territory, but warned that if the alliance went into battle with Russia, it would be "World War III."

Zelensky was due to the address the Council of Europe on Monday afternoon but had to cancel due to "very urgent unforeseen" circumstances. No further reasons were given. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal gave the address instead.

Zelensky is due to address U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

Follow our live blog for updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Kyiv bombs
A crane removes a ruined car from in front of a destroyed apartment building after it was shelled in the northwestern Obolon district of Kyiv on March 14, 2022. Russia has lost 77 aircraft in Ukraine since it invaded the country on February 24, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Aris Messinis/Getty

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