Russia's manpower losses in Ukraine have surpassed another grim milestone as the tension between the warring countries has escalated in recent months, according to figures sourced from Ukraine's Armed Forces.
Moscow has lost nearly 2,000 soldiers per day and more than 800,000 men since the war began. Ukraine's tally of losses includes both those killed or wounded.
Russia made significant advances in several parts of the frontline through the end of 2024, but the territorial gains are coming at an increasingly painful cost, with Putin's forces breaking their own monthly casualty records for three consecutive months of October, November and December.
Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Russia's losses of military personnel passing grim milestones in terms of daily counts and overall casualties are significant because Moscow is currently facing a manpower shortage, which could further undermine its capacity to continue this war. Moreover, the growing lack of troops combined with Russia's high equipment losses could weaken Russia's defensive capabilities and pave way for further counterattacks by Ukraine.
What To Know
In their accounts of Russian daily casualties, Ukraine's Armed Forces reported that Russia lost 1,970 soldiers today, reaching new heights as the number of soldiers lost on Moscow's side per day previously ranged from 1,000 to 1,500. Pace of Russia's monthly losses began rising from September 2023 onward, reaching the peak in December 2024.
Moscow has not only seen increased losses in its own troops but has also begun losing high numbers of North Korean soldiers fighting alongside the Russians on the frontlines in Kursk. While an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) soldiers were deployed to Kursk, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky recently said that they lost "up to a battalion of infantry" over two days while fighting in one village in the southern part of the region. The Pentagon has previously estimated that North Korea has lost approximately 1,000 soldiers in Kursk so far.
In his daily address to Ukrainian citizens, Zelensky said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that in the five months since Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk, Russia has lost more than "38,000 soldiers in this single direction alone, with approximately 15,000 of them irrecoverable losses." The 15,000 losses the Ukrainian president noted are those who are dead or incapacitated and cannot return to war.
Although Ukraine does not often release information about its own military losses in the nearly four-year war, Zelensky said in December 2024 that Kyiv's losses of military personnel amounted to 43,000 since the war began, with 370,000 cases of soldiers being injured, and approximately 50 percent of those wounded later returning to service. The Ukrainian leader said that Kyiv's losses amounted to 31,000 as of February 2024, according to BBC News.
Many have considered Zelensky's statements about Ukrainian losses to be an underestimate and speculated that Kyiv's losses may be in the hundreds of thousands. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine also previously estimated that since the beginning of the war,11,743 civilians have been killed, and 24,614 have been injured in the conflict.
What People Are Saying
In their post about daily and overall losses for Russia since the war began today, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine wrote: "'There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.' Louis XIV."
Referencing's Kyiv's latest Russian loss figures, the British Defense Intelligence in its daily update on X on January 7 said: "Russian forces sustained 429,660 casualties (killed and wounded) in the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2024, a notable increase on the 252,940 casualties sustained in 2023, according to Ukrainian General Staff reporting. Since the start of the conflict Russia has likely sustained over 790,000 casualties.
"Russian forces sustained 429,660 casualties (killed and wounded) in the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2024, a notable increase on the 252,940 casualties sustained in 2023, according to Ukrainian General Staff reporting. Since the start of the conflict Russia has likely sustained over 790,000 casualties."
What Happens Next
Russia will likely continue to experience increasing manpower losses as fighting escalates in Kursk, following Ukraine's launch of a new offensive in southern Kursk last weekend. The fighting continues amid speculation that the incoming Trump administration will push for a swift ceasefire and seek to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
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