Ukraine claims to have destroyed 10,000 Russian tanks in the war — more than twice those lost in Battle of Stalingrad

Ukrainian forces have destroyed 10,000 Russian tanks since the start of the bloody conflict, the nation’s Ministry of Defense has claimed.

The momentous milestone, coming as the conflict approaches its third anniversary, is reported to represent the majority of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military firepower.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced the figure on its official X page and shared a picture of a destroyed Russian tank.

“10,000 Russian tanks have been destroyed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion,” the post read.

It added that Ukraine’s military “continues to stand strong and destroy the enemy!”

The 10,000 figure, while not independently verified, would represent a staggering loss for Putin.

In the bloodiest and fiercest battle of the Second World War, the Battle of Stalingrad, Soviet forces lost just over 4,300 tanks.

Russia’s military also passed a second grim milestone recently, with Ukraine claiming Putin’s forces have suffered a staggering 850,000 casualties.

In a press release on Monday, military high command in Kyiv announced that nine Russian tanks and at least 1,170 Russian troops had been wiped out in the past day alone.

These astounding reported losses are significantly higher than those posted by the Russian Ministry of Defense, which has not updated its tally of 6,000 Russian soldiers killed since September 2022.

It is also far higher than the figures shared by many in the West.

Earlier this month, UK Military Advisor Lt Col Joby Rimmer put the Russian tank losses at closer to 3,700.

In a February 2022 report, the Dutch investigative outlet Oryx estimated the number of destroyed tanks at just over 3,700.

News of these devastating milestones for Putin comes as President Trump looks to push for a peace deal to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end.

In an exclusive interview with The Post last week, the president revealed he had spoken on the phone with Putin to try and negotiate a peace deal.

Speaking from Airforce One, President Trump said that Putin also wanted to “see people stop dying” in the conflict, which has raged since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

“All those dead people. Young, young, beautiful people. They’re like your kids, two million of them — and for no reason,” he said.

Trump added that the war “never would have happened” if he had been president at the time.

The President, describing his predecessor Joe Biden as “a complete embarrassment,” also said he has a concrete plan to end the war.

“I want to end this damn thing,” he said.

Trump was joined by his national security advisor Michael Waltz, who said he had spoken about ending the Ukraine war in recent meetings with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping among others.

“Everybody is ready to help President Trump end this war,” he told The Post.

What a peace settlement in Ukraine would look like remains to be seen, but the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said he is willing to make a deal to bring an end to the deadliest land conflict in Europe since the Second World War.

Last week, he told Reuters that he wanted to “do a deal” with Trump, which could see Ukraine supply the US with vital rare earths and other minerals in return for lasting financial and military support.

“If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” he told Reuters.