Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
March was the bloodiest month to be a Russian soldier in the war so far.
Imagine visiting a large city like Dallas, Texas. The streets are buzzing, there’s stores and shops everywhere, and you suck all the life in.
You then visit Dallas again five years later, only to find the city abandoned. No people, no cars on the streets, no open shops, nothing.
The 1.3 million inhabitants of Dallas has simply disappeared over the cause of half a decade.
It sounds like the beginning of a horror movie, but the 1.3 million people disappearing is actually very much reality, as the Russian losses in Ukraine has reached a grim milestone.
Russia losses accelate
Ukraine’s General Staff said on April 9 that Russia has lost 1,307,540 troops since launching its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
The figure includes 1,040 casualties reported over the previous 24 hours.
For comparison, Dallas had a population of 1,304,379 in 2020 according to Ballotpedia.
The same update detailed extensive equipment losses, including 11,847 tanks and 24,370 armored combat vehicles, alongside tens of thousands of other military assets.
In early April, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine said that the Russian casualties set af new record in March, with more than 35,300 casualties in just a month.
Equipment toll
According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has also lost 88,332 vehicles and fuel tanks, as well as 39,689 artillery systems and 1,724 multiple launch rocket systems.
Air capabilities have also been affected, with reported losses of 435 aircraft and 350 helicopters. In addition, Ukraine claims Russia has lost 227,539 drones, 33 ships and boats, and two submarines.
The figures could not be independently verified, and Russia does not regularly publish comparable data on its own losses.
Ukrainian losses
Ukraine has largely kept its own casualty figures undisclosed, citing operational security concerns.
However, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with France TV on Feb. 4 that at least 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the invasion began. He added that many more are classified as missing in action.
Ongoing combat and heavy drone use have complicated efforts to recover bodies from the front lines, slowing identification processes that rely on DNA testing.
Independent estimates
External analysts broadly agree that Russian losses exceed those of Ukraine. The Center for Strategic and International Studies has assessed the casualty ratio at roughly “2.5:1 or 2:1.”
In a January 2026 report, the think tank estimated Ukraine’s total casualties between 500,000 and 600,000 from February 2022 through the end of 2025, including between 100,000 and 140,000 killed in action.
The same report estimated the Russian losses to be approximatly 1,2 million at the time.
Sources: Ukraine General Staff, CSIS, France TV, Ballotpedia
