Confirmed casualties and sources
An independent Russian media outlet, Mediazona, working with BBC Russian, has verified 236,066 Russian soldiers who have died in the war in Ukraine. This includes the addition of 2,867 new names since their last update in mid-July. The information comes from open sources like public obituaries, social media posts by family members, reports from local authorities, and coverage in regional media.
Of the verified deaths, 86,600 were individuals who volunteered for the military, 26,200 were prisoners recruited, and 19,600 were soldiers conscripted during the recent mobilization. For 218,400 of the 236,066 confirmed cases, specific dates of death are known. This covers approximately 93% of the verified fatalities.
Zelensky and Western estimates
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Russian forces have suffered 1.6 million military casualties since the start of the full-scale invasion. Of these, about 700,000 were killed. Zelensky also mentioned that approximately 50,000 Ukrainian service members were killed, with around 400,000 wounded. These latest numbers are somewhat lower than those he shared in February, when he estimated that at least 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been officially confirmed dead in combat.
According to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia has lost an estimated 1,449,120 troops since the invasion began on February 22, 2022. These figures do not break down into killed or wounded, but experts generally believe the number includes dead, wounded, missing, and captured personnel. This aligns with a study by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, which estimated Russia had 1.4 million battlefield casualties between February 2022 and June 2026, including up to 450,000 soldiers killed.
Recruitment challenges and mobilization
Zelensky has said that Russian forces lose about 30,000 troops per month, a figure that suggests an alarming level of attrition. Western intelligence reports indicate that in 2026, Russia has struggled to meet its monthly recruitment goal of 30,000 new soldiers. In fact, the number of losses has exceeded the number of recruits each month, which has led the Kremlin to seriously consider holding additional rounds of mobilization.
In a July 25 address, Zelensky stated that Moscow had enlisted 221,000 people into the military this year, but had also suffered nearly 225,500 losses, with 131,000 of them killed and 93,000 wounded. This discrepancy shows the ongoing strain on Russia's military resources as it continues to face high casualties on the battlefield.