On Monday, a pro-Kremlin magazine stated that over 10,000 Russian troops had been killed in Ukraine's battle — before removing the figure and claiming it had been hacked.

According to the Putin-aligned Komsomolskaya Pravda, which cited the Russian Ministry of Defense, 9,861 Russian troops have died, and 16,153 have been wounded in Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24. It is unknown whether the tolls were correctly calculated.

The astonishing amounts were more than what Russia had ever disclosed since the conflict began.

On March 2, Russia said that 498 of its men had been killed in action and 1,597 had been injured.

Later Monday, Komsomolskaya Pravda withdrew the staggering figures from its website and released a statement alleging hacking.

The article's original form was still available in the newspaper's online archives.

According to a New York Times investigation last week, intelligence sources conservatively estimate that approximately 7,000 Russian troops have been killed in the fight thus far.

By comparison, 3,481 United States soldiers were killed in action during the Iraq war.

According to Ukrainian sources, six senior Russian military officers, including four generals, have also been murdered.