Russia has issued another statement about the alleged losses of Ukraine’s Defense Forces over four years of full-scale war, claiming more than 1.5 million Ukrainian troops killed and wounded.
That’s according to data from Russia’s Ministry of Defense, reported by the state run news agency TASS.
Officials also claimed 27,835 Ukrainian tanks and 670 aircraft have been destroyed.
However, back in September 2025, Anton Kobyakov, an adviser to Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, said Ukrainian losses stood at 1.8 million.
According to him, that figure was first allegedly announced by a British journalist, and later hackers allegedly broke into the Ukrainian General Staff’s database and confirmed it.
Journalist Denis Kazansky drew attention to this discrepancy on his Telegram channel. He noted that Ukraine has never had that many aircraft, and that even all NATO countries combined do not possess that many tanks. “It gives an impression of total inadequacy. None of the data voiced by the Russian authorities deserves any trust. This is where you truly have a fake state and a failed state,” Kazansky emphasized.
Ukraine’s military command has not commented on the Russian propagandists’ claims about Ukrainian losses.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia loses tens of thousands of troops each month in the war against Ukraine, yet Kremlin propaganda still tries to showcase “successes” on the battlefield. By his estimate, capturing one kilometer of Ukrainian land costs Russian forces 156 lives.
The Institute for the Study of War analyzed statements by Putin and Dmitry Medvedev and found they used the Defenders of the Fatherland holiday on February 23 to send Russians a clear signal: the war in Ukraine will continue, and the Kremlin will need more soldiers, who will likely see their incomes cut.
In early February, Zelensky said losses among Ukraine’s Defense Forces since February 24, 2022, had reached 55,000 killed. He added that many people are also considered missing.
