Kathrine Frich
The war in Ukraine is increasingly becoming a battlefield dominated by drones, relentless assaults and shrinking chances of survival.
Military analysts say the nature of combat is changing rapidly, with wounded soldiers now far less likely to make it off the battlefield alive.
According to Ukrainian estimates, Russian troops are now dying at rates rarely seen in modern warfare.
Record death rate
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said intelligence assessments show Russian battlefield losses now consist of 62 percent dead and only 38 percent wounded, according to Onet.
If accurate, the figures would represent a dramatic shift from earlier stages of the war, when wounded soldiers heavily outnumbered fatalities.
Analysts say the current ratio is approaching 2:1, a level considered historically extraordinary in modern conflict.
Drone battlefield
Experts increasingly point to drones as the main reason behind the growing death toll.
According to Ukrainian analysts, unmanned aerial vehicles are responsible for as much as 70 to 80 percent of Russian casualties.
Austrian military expert Markus Reisner said Ukraine has managed to create a 50-kilometer-wide “death zone” along parts of the front using mass drone deployments.
“Ukraine has found a way to stop the Russian advance,” Reisner told ntv.
Changing warfare
The report noted that modern wars traditionally produced far more wounded soldiers than deaths thanks to medical advances and evacuation systems.
In many past conflicts, ratios ranged between one dead soldier for every three to five wounded.
But drone warfare is now making evacuations increasingly difficult because injured troops are often targeted before they can be rescued.
Mounting losses
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russia suffered around 1.2 million casualties between the start of the invasion and the end of 2025, including killed, wounded and missing soldiers.
The think tank estimated that between 275,000 and 325,000 of those losses were fatalities.
Ukraine also claims Russian offensive tactics are worsening the situation by repeatedly exposing troops to heavy fire while commanders allegedly neglect evacuation efforts for wounded soldiers.
Sources: Blic.rs, CSIS, ISW, ntv
