Russia’s army has already lost more than 1.2 million troops killed and wounded in its war against Ukraine.
Russian president Vladimir Putin tasked the Russian army with forming 15 new divisions in 2025, but in reality only four are being created, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Pavel Palisa said in an interview with Ukrinform.
The official stressed that Russia’s occupying forces are suffering massive losses. To date, Russia’s army has lost more than 1.2 million killed and wounded. In 2025, Russia was losing 120 personnel for every kilometer of Ukrainian territory seized, he said. To replenish those heavy losses, Russia will have to resort to mobilization, according to Palisa.
He said four divisions are being formed in Russia, even though the Defense Ministry had been tasked with creating 15 new divisions in 2025. This suggests the Kremlin is facing serious problems manning new military units.
Palisa believes victory for Ukraine will be a situation in which Moscow can no longer dictate terms to Kyiv and Ukraine secures Western security guarantees. He added that maintaining a strong Ukrainian army and achieving a just, lasting peace are also essential conditions for victory.
In early February 2026, Ukraine’s Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, aiming to clear Russian occupiers from areas where the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions meet. President Volodymyr Zelensky said about 300 square kilometers were liberated during the southern counteroffensive. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi later specified that roughly 400 square kilometers and eight settlements had been freed.
