General Staff: Russia has lost 1,279,170 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russia has lost around 1.28 million troops since the invasion began on February 24, 2022, including 740 casualties in a single day.
On March 15, 2023, Ukraine's General Staff reported that the total number of Russian troops lost during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has reached approximately 1,279,170. This figure includes a significant number of casualties reported within just one day, highlighting the ongoing intensity of the conflict. The report emphasizes the extensive hardware losses experienced by Russian forces as well, with numerous tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery systems reported as destroyed or rendered inoperable.
In addition to personnel losses, the report details a staggering amount of military equipment lost by Russia, including nearly 12,000 tanks and over 24,000 armored combat vehicles, which further illustrates the high cost of the invasion. These figures align with assessments from various Western think tanks, which suggest that Russian casualties are substantially higher than those of Ukraine, with reports indicating ratios of approximately 2.5:1 or 2:1. Such losses raise questions about the sustainability of Russia's military efforts in the region.
While the Ukrainian forces have not disclosed their own casualty figures for operational security reasons, estimates by Western analysts indicate that Ukraine has also suffered significant losses, with suggested figures ranging from 500,000 to 600,000 since the start of the invasion. The continued high levels of casualties and equipment losses underline the protracted nature of the conflict, suggesting that both sides face challenges in sustaining their military operations over time, which could have broader implications for the war's future trajectory.