Russian casualties reach 1.5 million mark since full-scale invasion of Ukraine, CDS says
The total number of casualties sustained by Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now reached 1.5 million.
The Chief of the Defence Staff said it is a "grim milestone" and the figure shows the cost of President Putin’s "flawed decision" on the country and its people.
The number of deaths sustained by Russian forces has reached 500,000 in the four and a half years since conflict expanded.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton said: "This grim milestone highlights the vast cost and more broadly enormous impact of President Putin's frankly flawed decision to invade Ukraine and the impact that this this continued conflict has had and continues to have on so many fronts and in particular the cost to Russia.
"That’s half a million photographs hanging on the walls in devastated darkened homes about Russia. That means half a million families who will never see their father their son their brother or husband again.
“And of those one and a half million, 1.4 million have been sustained in order to gain just 2% of Ukraine's territory – so that's the period since January 2023.
"I think these numbers illustrate clearly the senseless and futile waste of human life for such little progress and against such an illegitimate aim of President Putin.
"We know that Russia's armed forces have also lost an enormous amount of their military material – more than 10,000 armoured and protected vehicles, close to 3,000 air defence and artillery systems and over 370 crewed air systems aircraft and helicopters.
"So while all of these military costs and statistics are noteworthy, the most shocking number is that 1.5 million fighting for Russia have become casualties on account of President Putin's invasion."
The war also is taking an immense economical toll on Russia’s finances, with fuel shortages reported across the country and western officials saying North Korean women have been drafted in to help with a labour shortage.
CDS added: "Germany's intelligence agencies suggested that military spending accounted for half of the federal budget in 2025, and we know that Russia plans to spend at least 38% of the federal budget on the military in 2026.
"We also know that since May 26, there have been fuel shortages across 80 of Russia's 83 regions.
"Russian media predicts a labour gap of between one and a half and 3.1 million workers for 2026, and that lower range that one and a half million gap feels particularly poignant this week with the reporting of the number of casualties."
Join Our Newsletter
