Russia has incurred an estimated 1.2 million casualties between February 2022 and December 2025, losses unseen for a major military power since World War II, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The figure includes up to 325,000 Russian troops killed. Meanwhile, close to 600,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed, wounded, or gone missing during the same period.
According to the report, combined casualties from both sides could reach 2 million by spring of 2026.
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv provides up-to-date information on military casualties, and both sides have been accused of exaggerating the losses of their opponents.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that the report could not be considered “reliable information,” stressing that only Russia’s Ministry of Defense is authorized to release data on military fatalities.
The ministry has not published updated figures since September 2022, when it reported that just under 6,000 Russian soldiers had died.
The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond to the report. In February 2025 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that more than 46,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed since the start of the conflict.
The report also found that Russian forces advanced an average of just 15 to 70 meters per day during their most significant offensives in 2024, “slower than almost any major offensive campaign in modern warfare.”
Over the weekend, Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. met in Abu Dhabi for peace talks, but no breakthrough was reached, as the Kremlin insisted it would not withdraw troops unless Ukraine cedes part of its territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected Putin’s demand.
