Russia’s troop losses in Ukraine have reached a grim milestone, with Moscow losing 104,650 soldiers in the first three-and-a-half months of 2025, according to figures sourced from Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Moscow’s loss of more than 100,000 troops only adds to its growing manpower shortage, which could injure its ability to continue fighting in the war with Ukraine.
Moreover, Russia’s high troops losses in this year alone could increase tensions between Moscow and Kyiv and prolong the ongoing peace negotiations.
What To Know
As the war has escalated, Ukraine’s tally, which includes both those wounded and killed, has found that Russia has lost more than 100,000 troops in the last three-and-a-half months. Newsweek has yet to verify this.
Russia’s loss of troops also spiked since June 2024 and reached its peak in December 2024 and January 2025.
Moscow’s loss of soldiers reached approximately 2,000 per day in January, but it has since fallen to be anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 soldiers per day in February and March.
Since the war began when Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv has found that Russia has lost a total of 895,450 men, according to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Ukraine does not often release information on its own military losses, but in his most recent update on the subject, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News in February that, since the war began, approximately 380,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been injured and 46,000 have been killed.
Many have speculated that Zelensky’s statements about Ukrainian losses are an underestimate and believe that Kyiv’s losses may be in the hundreds of thousands.
Despite ongoing peace negotiations, tensions between Moscow and Kyiv have continued to rise as they have increased attacks on each other.
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery responsible for producing 50 percent of Moscow’s fuel in an overnight drone strike on March 11, while Zelensky said Russia is increasing its military presence by Moscow’s border with Ukraine ahead of a move to push into the northeastern Sumy region.
What People Are Saying
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Oleksander Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, wrote: “Thanks to the coordinated and professional work of our defenders, the total losses of the occupiers in manpower since the beginning of this year have exceeded 100 thousand people. Thank you to the Ukrainian soldiers for their professional combat work and resilience! Glory to Ukraine!”
Zelensky wrote on X: “After the talks in Jeddah and the American proposal for a ceasefire on the front line, Russia stole almost another week—a week of war that only Russia wants. We will do everything to further intensify diplomacy. We will do everything to make diplomacy effective. But every day now is about defending our independence, our state, and our people.
“We must remember—it is the support of our army, all our defense and security forces, and our state that determines everything. I thank each and every one who does not forget that Ukraine’s defense and resilience are paramount. I am grateful to all Ukrainian soldiers, every one of our units. I thank everyone who works for our defense and for our state. I thank all Ukrainians for every fundraiser for our Ukrainian army. We must remember—as long as the occupier is on our land, and as long as air raid sirens sound, we must defend Ukraine.”
What Happens Next
Russia may not be able to continue fighting in the war with Ukraine if it continues losing troops at this rate and may have to make concessions in peace negotiations.
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