Russia and Ukraine admit heavy military losses nearly three weeks into war

Ukraine and Russia are losing soldiers at a faster rate than the US at the height of the Vietnam war

Police officers detain a woman in central Moscow, during a protest against Russian military action in Ukraine. AFP

Children look at phones as people who fled the conflict in Ukraine wait outside an immigration office in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters

Soldiers stand next to a bus with a damaged windscreen, after an attack on the Yavoriv military base, in Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine. Reuters

A soldier waits at a hospital after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters

A wounded soldier is transported by medical workers, at a hospital in Novoyavorivsk, after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters

Rescuers work at the site of an accident after a bus that was carrying about 50 Ukrainian refugees overturned near Forli, central Italy. One person died in the crash. AFP

A man wounded in the air strikes at a nearby military complex is assisted by medical staff outside Novoiavorivsk District Hospital. Getty Images

Paramedics find low ground after an air-raid siren sounds on the outskirts of Novoiavorivsk. Getty Images

A view of a residential building damaged during an air strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A tram damaged by shelling sits at a depot, in Kharkiv. AP

An abandoned doll next to a car riddled with bullets in Irpin, north of Kyiv. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier holds a Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon that was used to destroy a Russian armoured personal carrier in Irpin. AFP

Residents try to strengthen the wall of a house damaged by recent shelling, on the outskirts Kyiv. AFP

Firefighters extinguish a blaze at a house after shelling in Kyiv. AFP

A convoy of pro-Russian troops outside the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters

Smoke from shelling rises behind a wreath at a cemetery in Vasylkiv, south-west of Kyiv. AP

A woman stands outside a local hospital, damaged during fighting in Volnovakha. Reuters

People gather in the basement of a local hospital, which was damaged during clashes in Volnovakha. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier leaves a damaged building after shelling in Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AFP

A finance police officer boards Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko's superyacht, which has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, Italy. Reuters

A Russian KA-52 gunship strikes a Ukrainian military object. AFP

Bystanders watch what appears to be Russian forces arresting Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, a city in south-eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Firefighters battle a blaze at a warehouse storing frozen products hit by shelling in Kvitneve, Kyiv region. Reuters

A soldier loads the cargo hold of a chartered Boeing 747 airplane with duffle bags belonging to US soldiers, during their deployment to Europe, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. AP

Two young girls pray for peace in Ukraine at Lisbon's 16th century Jeronimos Monastery. AP Photo

A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces walks on the debris of a car wash destroyed by Russian bombing in Baryshivka, east of Kyiv. AP Photo

Volunteers pass an improvised path under a destroyed bridge as they help an elderly resident in Irpin, north-west Kyiv. AP Photo

A woman who was evacuated from Irpin kisses a cat wrapped in a blanket at a triage point in Kyiv. AP Photo

An explosion is seen in an apartment building after a Russian army tank fires in Mariupol. AP Photo

A Russian army tank moves through a street on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo

Tonya Steyn, office manager and volunteer co-ordinator, sorts through medical supplies at the non-governmental organisation, SOS International headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. AFP

An overview of damaged buildings and burning fuel storage tanks at Antonov Airport in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. Maxar Technologies / AFP

The destroyed main building of school number 25, after being bombed in Zhytomyr. EPA

A supporter holds a sign to support Ukraine during Paris' mayor and 'Socialist party' (PS) presidential candidate's campaign meeting in Rennes, western France. AFP

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

Seventeen days into one of the largest state against state conflicts for decades, civilian and military casualties are mounting rapidly.

Massive attacks raining down rocket artillery, missiles and aerial bombs are pounding the country’s largest cities, including Kharkiv, which had a population of around 1.5 million at the start of the war; Mariupol, which had a population of about 430,000; and the capital Kyiv, home to 3.5 million people when the war started.

As with most modern conflicts, civilians are bearing the brunt of death and destruction.

On the military side, US officials say Russia may have lost anywhere between 2,000 and 6,000 soldiers.

The officials caution that the fog of war means these figures could vary widely, but it is clear from following open source conflict monitors that Russia's losses are very high.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers had died in fighting since the war started on February 24.

In material terms, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have uploaded hundreds of videos and photographs of Russian losses, enabling conflict monitors to make a rough estimate of attrition.

Russia says that 498 of its troops have been killed in action and 1,597 wounded — almost twice the number of fatalities suffered by Britain in the 74-day Falklands War with Argentina, which also claimed the lives of 649 Argentine servicemen.

Ukrainian military losses are harder to gauge, although Russian forces and allied separatists in the Donbass region have been uploading videos of destroyed and captured Ukrainian armour.

While Russian forces have been less prolific than Ukrainians in sharing videos of destroyed enemy hardware, it appears Ukraine’s losses have been staggeringly high.

If the upper limit of these estimates is correct, then the war is claiming the lives of around 430 soldiers per day, in total.

From fatalities, a rough estimate of the wounded can be determined: taking Russia’s figures of three times the number of wounded to dead, about 20,000 Russian soldiers may have been injured if the upper US estimate of fatalities is correct.

Russia’s acknowledgement of nearly 500 killed was made on March 2. If accurate, the figure is now considerably higher. After seven days of war, 498 killed equates to an average of more than 70 killed per day.

Ukraine's admitted losses 16 days into the war, are at a slightly higher average of 76 per day.

For comparison, during 1968, the bloodiest year for American forces in Vietnam, the US suffered on average 1,400 dead per month, or around 46 per day.

Fighting was intense throughout 1968, with US forces fighting the major Communist Tet offensive that saw battles rage from urban centres such as Hue and the outskirts of Saigon — now Ho Chi Minh City — to the jungles along the borders of Laos and Cambodia.

Whichever figures are correct in Ukraine, it is obvious that both sides are taking heavy losses, placing an increasing strain on the political will to continue the conflict.