August M
Ukraine’s military leadership has offered a new assessment of Russia’s forces on Ukrainian territory, pointing to sustained pressure on Moscow’s manpower. The figures underline how the war has settled into a costly stalemate for Russian forces, despite continued recruitment.
The estimates were shared as Kyiv highlighted both battlefield dynamics and recent strikes deep behind the front, reports RBC Ukraine.
Force levels steady
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi told journalists that the number of Russian troops in Ukraine has remained broadly stable over the past six months. According to him, Moscow has maintained between 711,000 and 712,000 personnel, including operational reserves.
Syrskyi said Russia has met and even exceeded its staffing plans. However, he argued this stability masks deeper problems linked to sustained casualties.
“This indicates that the level of their losses exceeds their ability to replenish,” the general said. He added that Russian forces are losing roughly 1,000 to 1,100 servicemen each day.
Heavy toll
Syrskyi said Russia’s cumulative losses since the start of the full-scale invasion have reached around 1.2 million personnel. This figure includes those killed, wounded or missing and, according to the Ukrainian commander, exceeds losses in any conflict involving Russia since World War II.
He also stated that about 325,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since February 2022 alone.
The claims could not be independently verified, but they align with repeated Ukrainian and Western assessments of high Russian casualty rates.
Strikes beyond the front
Alongside attrition on the battlefield, Syrskyi pointed to recent Ukrainian special operations targeting Russian military infrastructure. He said Ukrainian forces carried out a series of successful attacks on Russian airfields.
According to the Ukrainian military, 15 aircraft were destroyed or damaged in those strikes, inflicting losses exceeding $1 billion and reducing Russia’s ability to carry out air attacks against Ukraine.
Wider assessments
Ukraine’s estimates echo comments from NATO leadership. In January, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Russia was losing about 1,000 soldiers per day in December 2025, referring specifically to those killed.
Syrskyi has previously described Ukraine’s army as “one of the strongest and most experienced armies in the world,” citing the reported neutralization of 420,000 Russian troops over the course of 2025 as evidence.
Sources: RBC Ukraine, NATO
