Losses in the war against Ukraine may exceed 500,000 dead
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's statements about successes on the front lines, Russian forces' losses over four years of invasion have been among the highest for a major power since World War II. There are currently no signs of a decrease in the intensity of hostilities.
Accurate data on the number of casualties remains classified in both Moscow and Kyiv. At the same time, some estimates indicate that, as a percentage of the wartime population, Ukraine has lost more soldiers than Russia, although the Russian Federation's total losses are significantly higher. This was reported by The Public with reference to the NY Times.
Journalists from Mediazona and BBC Russian Service, who have been collecting confirmed data on Russian military casualties since the beginning of the invasion, updated their count to 200,186 on 24 February. The count is based on verified names in obituaries, burial data, reports from relatives on social media, court documents, and other government records. The authors emphasised that this figure is a minimum estimate. They recorded nearly 27,000 settlements in Russia from which soldiers who later died went to war.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington estimated the number of Russian military personnel killed in action at 325,000. The study notes that the total number of Russian casualties, including wounded and killed, could reach 1.2 million.
Set Jones, co-author of the Center for Strategic and International Studies study, said that no major power has suffered such losses since World War II, with the possible exception of China during the Korean War, estimates of which vary significantly.
On the fourth anniversary of the war, Vladimir Putin addressed the Federal Security Service and stated the need to strengthen Russia's defence against Ukrainian attacks. The day before, he met with the widows of fallen soldiers in the Kremlin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech in Kyiv about the resilience of Ukrainians, welcomed European leaders, and visited an improvised memorial in the centre of the capital.
According to estimates by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, between 500,000 and 600,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been wounded, killed or gone missing since the start of the war. Of these, between 100,000 and 140,000 are considered dead. This is approximately two to three times higher than the figures previously announced by Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine is facing difficulties in replenishing its personnel, particularly due to problems with mobilisation and desertion. At the same time, Russia is compensating for its losses through a recruitment system with large payments and the involvement of convicts, and its population is more than four times that of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian side is trying to increase the enemy's losses. Ukrainian presidential adviser Pavlo Palisas said that in 2025, Russia lost 120 soldiers per square kilometre of captured territory.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that in December, Ukraine killed or seriously wounded 35,000 Russian soldiers, which roughly corresponds to the average monthly recruitment level for the Russian army last year. According to him, the goal is to increase Russia's losses to 50,000 per month.
