How many troops has Russia lost in the 3 years since invading Ukraine?

It has been three years since Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and in that time, tens of thousands of soldiers have been casualties of the conflict. But how many troops has Moscow lost in the fighting?

Deciphering how many dead and wounded Moscow has suffered since Russian tanks began rolling into Ukrainian territory is difficult to know. Moscow doesn’t provide any figures on its losses. However, we do have a rough idea. 

The Ukrainian General Staff has provided a daily update on Russian men and material losses since the war started. As of February 23rd, 2025, Ukraine’s General Staff noted that Russia has lost 867,180 military personnel. 

While Ukraine's Russian loss figures may seem accurate, it is important to remember that Ukraine is a belligerent in the conflict and has an interest in portraying the Kremlin’s losses as high throughout the last three years of fighting. 

It’s also important to note that the Ukrainian General Staff does not distinguish between Russian soldiers that have been wounded or killed in action in its loss figures. However, Ukraine’s projections may be close to correct. 

The latest assessment on Russian losses by the UK Ministry of Defense was published on the ministry’s X account on February 5th. At that time, the ministry suggested Russia had likely lost 837,000 soldiers since the invasion began. 

On February 5th, the Ukrainian General Staff’s estimate of Russian military personnel losses was 844,070. However, knowing the true number of Russian losses is probably not something that the world will ever know with certainty. 

When it comes to Russia’s war dead, the most accurate information may come from analysis by BBC Russia and the independent Russian investigative journalism group Mediazone, which estimates nearly 100,000 soldiers have died in Ukraine. 

According to a February 23rd report from BBC News, analysis of information from BBC Russia and Mediazone found that 95,000 Russian troops have died fighting in Ukraine. This figure excludes militia soldiers from the Donbas region’s self-proclaimed republics. 

BBC Russia and Mediazone estimated that somewhere between 21,000 and 23,500 fighters from the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk have died in the fighting since the full-scale war began. 

BBC Russia and Mediazone have been keeping a list of names they believe have died in Ukraine “The list includes names of the deceased that we verified using information from official reports, newspapers, social media, and new memorials and graves. The real death toll is believed to be much higher,” Olga Ivshina of BBC News explained. 

The total number of Russian deaths in the war could range anywhere between 146,194 to 211,169 according to BBC News. When figures from Russian militia forces are added to the total, the ranges rise to between 167,194 to 234,669 fatalities. 

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