WASHINGTON — One year after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war has left at least 8,006 civilians dead, the United Nations’ leading human rights organization reported on Feb. 21.
Additionally, 13,287 civilians were injured over the past 12 months, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found. Explosive weapons — including artillery shells, airstrikes, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles — caused about 90.3% of civilian casualties, the office added.
As Ukraine continues to bolster its forces with Western arms, Moscow is using unorthodox methods to depreciate Kyiv’s military prowess. On Feb. 24, 2022, Defense News published information on the weapons inventories of Russia and Ukraine, based on data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance+ database. The following is an updated version, with footnotes at the bottom of this article.
- Data as of November 2022.
- Armored Fighting Vehicles are armored combat vehicles with a combat weight of at least 6 metric tons.
- Surface-to-Surface Missile Launchers are launch vehicles for transporting and firing surface-to-surface ballistic and cruise missiles.
- Artillery is made up of weapons — such as guns, howitzers, multiple-rocket launchers and mortars — with a caliber greater than 100mm for artillery pieces and 80mm and above for mortars, capable of engaging ground targets with indirect fire.
- Air Defense includes guns, directed-energy weapons and surface-to-air missile launchers designed to engage fixed-wing, rotary-wing and uninhabited aircraft. Systems primarily intended to intercept missiles rather than aircraft are excluded.
Chris Martin is the managing editor for Defense News. His interests include Sino-U.S. affairs, cybersecurity, foreign policy and his yorkie Willow.