Despite Vladimir Putin intensifying assaults on Ukraine and achieving territorial gains, the associated costs have been substantial, as indicated by the most recent Western evaluation.
British Defence Minister John Healey has reported that Russia incurred up to 240,000 casualties during the initial seven months of this year.
“The total number of Russian military personnel killed or injured since the onset of the full-scale invasion has exceeded 1,000,000. Just this year alone—240,000 casualties,” Healey stated during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, according to the military-focused Ukrainian publication Militarnyi.
This British evaluation aligns with assessments from the United States and Ukraine regarding the significant toll the conflict has taken on Russia.
Since the war commenced in 2022, Russia has employed a ‘meat-grinder strategy,’ which involves sending wave after wave of soldiers to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses through sheer numbers, rather than engaging in tactical battles aimed at minimizing losses. Although this strategy has yielded some successes, the resulting casualties for Russia have been considerable, and analysts have suggested that this approach may ultimately falter if Western support for Ukraine persists.
Russia has experienced over 1 million military losses since 2022. This British evaluation corroborates earlier assessments from the United States, Ukraine, and independent analysts.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that at least 100,000 Russian soldiers have perished this year.
Rubio remarked, “Since the start of 2025, approximately 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine—dead, not merely wounded.”
In a similar vein, Ukraine reported this month that the total Russian casualties—both injured and killed—this year have reached 252,360.
These figures are consistent with the independent analysis conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which estimated that Russia has sustained around 1 million casualties. This assessment was released in June.
Out of approximately 1 million casualties, around 250,000 soldiers were killed, while the remainder were injured, according to the report.
