The Kremlin has refuted a claim stating that Russia has experienced the highest number of casualties of any major power in any conflict since World War II during the current Ukraine war. According to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies based in Washington, D.C., Russia has suffered 1.2 million casualties, including around 325,000 troop deaths, from February 2022 to December 2025. The report also predicts that the total number of soldiers killed, injured, or missing on both sides of the conflict could reach a million by the spring.
The report highlights that despite assertions of progress in Ukraine, Russia is enduring significant losses for minimal territorial gains, indicating a decline in its status as a major power. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report on Wednesday, stating that only Russia’s Ministry of Defence is authorized to provide information on military losses, and deemed the research unreliable.
Both Moscow and Kyiv do not provide timely updates on military casualties, with each side seeking to exaggerate the other’s losses. The Russian Ministry of Defence last reported just under 6,000 Russian soldiers killed in September 2022 and has not released updated figures since then. The report estimates that Ukraine, with a smaller army and population, has suffered between 500,000 and 600,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed in a February 2025 interview with NBC that over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the conflict began. The CSIS report projects that combined Russian and Ukrainian casualties could reach 1.8 million at current rates, as the war approaches its fourth year since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
The figures presented by the CSIS were compiled through independent analysis, data from Mediazona, estimates from the British government, and interviews with state officials. Reports on military losses have reportedly been suppressed in Russian media, with over 160,000 troop names collected by Mediazona, the BBC, and volunteers through various sources.
The report also indicates that Russian forces have been advancing slowly since gaining momentum on the battlefield in 2024, despite their numerical advantage. The conflict in Ukraine has evolved into a protracted war of attrition, with Russian President Vladimir Putin showing no urgency to seek a resolution despite challenges faced by the army along the approximately 1,000-kilometre front line.
Trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States to address the conflict are scheduled to resume in Abu Dhabi on February 1. The report states that Russian forces have been advancing at a rate of 15 to 70 meters per day in major offensives, significantly slower than historical offensive campaigns.
Putin has stated varying figures of Russian troop deployments in Ukraine, with the latest being 700,000 troops. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported two deaths and multiple injuries in attacks near Kyiv, with other regions also experiencing Russian strikes causing casualties and infrastructure damage. Both sides engaged in drone attacks, with conflicting reports on the number of drones destroyed.
