Ukraine reports over 1.5 million Russian troops and massive equipment losses since 2022 invasion
The Ukrainian General Staff says Russian forces have lost 1,502,390 personnel and thousands of weapons and vehicles since the war began in February 2022.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced on September 9 that Russian forces have suffered 1,502,390 personnel losses since the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, with 1,520 of those occurring in the last 24 hours. Equipment losses include 12,339 tanks, 25,305 armored combat vehicles, 146,621 support vehicles and fuel tanks, 49,452 artillery pieces, 2,107 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,618 air-defence units, 441 aircraft, 356 helicopters, 2,550 unmanned ground systems, 508,205 aerial drones, 5,103 cruise missiles, 35 watercraft and two submarines.
A Center for Strategic and International Studies report from January 2026 puts Ukrainian casualties at 500,000-600,000, with 100,000-140,000 fatalities. President Volodymyr Zelensky told France TV on February 4 that at least 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, with many more missing. The intensity of Russian drone attacks and ongoing combat hampers the retrieval and identification of fallen Ukrainian troops.
Why it matters
The figures illustrate the staggering human and material cost of the Russia-Ukraine war for both sides.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTAll camps convey Ukrainian intelligence’s warning that Russia’s war resources will be exhausted by 2028, but left-leaning coverage emphasizes the sheer scale of troop and equipment losses, the centrist outlet highlights the two-year timeline and unsustainable daily casualty rate, while right-leaning coverage uses harsher language and stresses the need for a massive conscription push.
LEFT
Left-leaning coverage reports massive Russian casualties and equipment depletion, warning that Russia’s war materiel will run out within about 16 months.
RIGHT
Right-leaning coverage portrays the situation as an imminent collapse by 2028, using stark language and urging a large-scale conscription effort.
The left emphasises
- over 1.5 million Russian troops lost
- massive equipment depletion (tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, aircraft, drones)
- low troop morale and recruitment shortfall
The right emphasises
- 'Subnormal' Putin will run out of soldiers and money by 2028
- urged to conscript nearly one million troops
- resources will end in 2028
How this story developed
- Aug 14 Russia claims strikes on Ukrainian rail hub and vessels as drones hit Russian ports
- Sep 9 Ukrainian drones also struck the Russian Black Sea naval base in Novorossisk.
- Sep 9 Putin said capture of the entire eastern Donbass is only a matter of time.
- Sep 9 Russian drones hit two districts of Kyiv on Sept. 9, injuring nine people and igniting fires in a high-rise building and a warehouse.
- Sep 9 Russian drones hit a border crossing in Ukraine’s Odesa region, killing two civilians, and set fire to a building in Kyiv.
- Sep 9 Norway's prime minister said a drone came close to hitting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's aircraft as it took off from Moldova en route to King Harald V's funeral in Oslo.
- Sep 10 Zelenskyy met Norwegian leaders in Oslo to discuss further military aid after the drone near‑miss.
- Sep 10 Zelensky called for European and U.S. leaders to take a stronger negotiating role and said Ukraine is ready to make concessions.
- Sep 10 A drone strike in Sumy added three deaths and two injuries to the day's casualties.
- Sep 10 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is hopeful U.S.-backed Ukraine peace talks will restart soon.
- Sep 10 Pavlohrad shopping centre was hit by Russian shelling, igniting fires and causing civilian casualties.
- Sep 11 Sea drones detonated on the Sochi promenade, injuring civilians and prompting evacuations.
- Sep 11 Russian missiles hit a Kyiv nine‑storey residential building, injuring two people.
- Sep 11 Russia has deployed the new “Web” shield to safeguard energy infrastructure.
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