A new study estimates that nearly 1 million Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marking it as one of the deadliest military campaigns in modern history.
Published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the report states that as of June 4, Russia has suffered over 950,000 military casualties since launching its invasion on February 24, 2022.
Of that total, up to 250,000 are believed to have been killed. In comparison, CSIS estimates Ukraine’s total casualties at approximately 400,000, including between 60,000 and 100,000 killed.
To replenish its forces, the report disclosed that Russia has increasingly relied on convicts, economically disadvantaged regions, and foreign partners.
Earlier reports claimed that over 10,000 North Korean troops have joined Russian forces. Meanwhile, conscription has largely avoided elite urban areas like Moscow and St. Petersburg, shielding President Vladimir Putin’s core support base from the war’s direct impact.
The toll on Russia’s military equipment has also been severe. Since January 2024 alone, Russia has lost more than 1,800 tanks, 3,000 infantry fighting vehicles, over 1,100 other armored vehicles, and hundreds of artillery systems, according to CSIS.
A recent Ukrainian drone strike in early June reportedly destroyed 41 Russian bombers, about a third of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet.
Despite the scale of Russian losses, the war has yielded only modest gains for Moscow.
According to the report, since January 2024, Russian forces have captured around 5,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, less than one percent of the country.
These gains have come mainly in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv regions, and at an exceptionally slow pace. In the Kharkiv area, Russian troops have advanced just 50 meters per day on average, slower than the trench advances seen in World War I.
The report concludes that Russia’s most viable path to victory may lie not on the battlefield, but in political shifts within the West.
It notes that U.S.-made ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) and HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems), along with air defense systems, other Western-supplied weaponry, and intelligence support, have significantly complicated Russia’s offensive campaign.
“If Moscow continues to drag its feet on peace talks, a U.S. decision to provide more weapons, intelligence, and training to Ukraine would escalate Russia’s battlefield costs,” the report adds.
