Tipping point in the war? Ukraine now killing troops faster than Russia can recruit them

The war in Ukraine is dragging on, but the fighting might have hit a tipping point during the last month of 2025.

According to a statement from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF), army commander General Oleksandr Syrsky said on Tuesday, that the Unmanned Systems Forces has been able to “neutralize” approximately as many Russian troops, as the Russians are able to call up.

Add to that the Russian losses from other forces under the UAF, and the Russian army is now losing troops faster, than it can replenish them.

The numbers have not been independently verified.

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Using AI, the editorial has translated the text from the post. We have not been able to check, if the translation is correct, but the information corresponds with what is being reported by other outlets.

Unedited translation

Last December became the first month in which unmanned systems units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine neutralized approximately as many servicemen of the occupying army as Russia conscripted in a single month. The enemy lost more than 33,000 personnel. This figure includes only cases confirmed by video, but the occupiers’ actual losses are higher.

I am grateful to the warriors of our unmanned systems units (USU) for their effectiveness in destroying the enemy and for the constant improvement in combat performance indicators.

The past year truly became a year of a major breakthrough in this area. The unmanned component within the Armed Forces of Ukraine has grown significantly. We are not stopping. For 2026, we have planned further expansion of the capabilities of USU units.

These tasks were discussed with the commanders of leading USU units of the Defense Forces.

Thanks to our military intelligence, we know that the enemy has no less ambitious plans. The Russians have followed our path and created separate unmanned systems forces, which already number 80,000 servicemen. At the second stage, in 2026, they plan to double this figure to 165,500. By 2030, it is expected to reach almost 210,000.

We also know that the state order for the production of long-range drones in the Russian Federation was fulfilled at 106% over the year, and that the military-industrial complex of the aggressor country produces more than 400 such UAVs per day.

We clearly understand what we will have to face in the near future and what exactly must be done to neutralize the enemy on the unmanned systems battlefield.

In modern warfare, this is a top priority. To this end, among other measures, I have tasked the formation of special units designed to effectively detect and destroy enemy high-tech drone units, command posts, and crews operating the occupiers’ unmanned aerial systems.

Whoever has an advantage in the quantity and quality of USU preserves more of their own soldiers and destroys the enemy more effectively. We continue to maintain an advantage in the number of FPV drone deployments.

In December, our unmanned aerial systems (UAS) units carried out about 339,000 missions, while ground robotic complexes (GRC) conducted nearly 2,100.

The total number of targets hit or destroyed by drones of the Defense Forces increased by 31%, while the number of enemy personnel hit rose by more than a quarter.

The most important part of this joint work was the presentations by commanders of leading USU units of the Defense Forces, who shared with colleagues their experience in the effective use of unmanned aerial vehicles and ground robotic complexes, as well as their advanced technical developments. The enemy has already felt their explosive power. We are developing and scaling up.

In addition, the Armed Forces have launched a technical support system for USU and an information support system for manufacturers.

We are working productively in these important areas.

We are holding the line and maintaining the pace.

Glory to Ukraine!

— Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine / CinC AF of Ukraine
General Oleksandr Syrskyi

This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation