The Kremlin has refuted a report suggesting that Russia has incurred the highest number of casualties among major powers in any conflict since World War II during the ongoing Ukraine war. The report, released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., disclosed that Russia suffered approximately 1.2 million casualties, including about 325,000 troop fatalities, between February 2022 and December 2025. It also predicted that the total number of soldiers killed, wounded, or missing on both sides of the conflict could reach a million by spring.
According to the report, despite assertions of progress in Ukraine, the data indicates that Russia is enduring significant losses for minimal advancements, signaling a decline as a major global power. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report on Wednesday, emphasizing that only Russia’s Ministry of Defence is authorized to provide official information on military losses.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have been criticized for withholding timely data on military casualties, with each side exaggerating the other’s losses. The Russian ministry last reported battlefield deaths in September 2022, confirming nearly 6,000 Russian soldiers killed. No updated figures have been released since then. The Ukrainian government has not commented on the report, which estimated Ukraine’s military casualties at between 500,000 and 600,000, including up to 140,000 deaths.
In an interview with NBC in February 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died since the conflict began. The combined casualties of Russian and Ukrainian forces could potentially reach 1.8 million at current rates, as the war nears its fourth year since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
The figures presented by the CSIS were compiled through the organization’s analysis, data from independent Russian news site Mediazona in collaboration with the BBC, estimates by the British government, and interviews with governmental officials. Reports of military losses have been suppressed in Russian media, with activists and independent journalists working to document casualties, including over 160,000 troops identified by Mediazona and its partners.
Additionally, North Korea reportedly deployed troops to Ukraine as part of a strategic collaboration with Russia, with South Korea’s intelligence services estimating that at least 600 North Korean soldiers had died by April 2025. The CSIS report highlighted that Russian military advances in Ukraine have been sluggish since taking the initiative in 2024, despite its superior size, indicating a prolonged war of attrition.
Trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States to seek a resolution to the conflict are scheduled to resume in Abu Dhabi on February 1, following initial talks last weekend. The report underscored that Russian forces have advanced at a modest pace of 15 to 70 meters per day during significant offensives, slower than most major offensive campaigns in recent history.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his annual news conference, reiterated the presence of 700,000 Russian troops in Ukraine, with varying figures provided in previous years. Ukrainian officials reported two fatalities near Kyiv and multiple injuries in attacks across the country. The conflict continues to escalate, with both sides engaging in military actions resulting in casualties and infrastructure damage.