Losses of the Russian Federation (enemy) in the war against Ukraine: statistics+analysis of the 2nd quarter of 2026

The article is updated quarterly based on data from public sources. Last updated on May 25, 2026.

According to official data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine , the total estimated losses of the enemy as of 05/25/2026 are: ~1,356,940 personnel.

Data source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (updated 05/25/2026)

This is more than the size of many European armies combined.

From the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine (February 24, 2022) to the present day, Ukrainian defenders have inflicted significant losses in equipment on the enemy – Russia (RF). Read more in the material about what enemy equipment was destroyed as of the end of May – beginning of June 2026 of the war, which has been going on for 5 years.

Enemy losses as of 05/25/2026

Read also: AI on the front 2026: Ukraine is the first in the world to train autonomous drones on real war data – what will this give the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Loss dynamics analysis

Russia continues to suffer the highest personnel losses in 2026 compared to previous years. Over the recent period, the increase in UAV losses (+1,948 units) is particularly noticeable – this indicates the intensive use of kamikaze drones and FPV drones on both sides.

Losses of aircraft, tanks and armored vehicles remain consistently high, although the pace has slowed somewhat compared to the peak months of 2022–2023, all due to drones that instantly hit any equipment that appears on the battlefield. This has prompted a slight change in Russian tactics: a shift to more infiltration tactics, the use of armored vehicles usually serves to deliver infantry as close to the combat zone as possible and the massive use of infantry in attacks.

Comparing data from different sources

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — official Ukrainian statistics (used in this article above).

Oryx is an independent project that confirms losses only with visually verified evidence (photos/videos). Oryx figures are usually lower than the General Staff data, but are considered very accurate. Losses in the monthly period from 01.04.2026 to 01.05.2026

BBC Russian and the Russian publication Mediazona are conducting an independent count of confirmed dead Russian servicemen based on inheritance cases and statements on social media from relatives of the deceased (only those identified by name when relatives directly confirm death, burial with full names and dates on social media). Currently, there are more than 221,000 people based on publications from relatives and 352,000 based on inheritance cases in courts, who are considered dead in the war with Ukraine – identified by name.

There are also separate data that Western publications rely on for their own intelligence data. These include publications such as: The Guardian , Reuters and others.

The Ukrainian General Staff’s data is traditionally higher, as it includes not only visually confirmed losses recorded on photos or videos, but also operational intelligence, data transmitted from the scene, reports from management, and other data.

Read also: Assistance from partners for 2026: what weapons will Ukraine receive (List)

How Russia hides and downplays its losses

The Russian Federation systematically hides real losses:

• It has not published official statistics on losses since the summer of 2022, meaning that in fact their official data only includes losses of about 6,000 military personnel.
• It prohibits regional media from reporting information about the dead or conducting any calculations of personnel losses, including missing persons (information about court cases declaring missing Russian soldiers dead was also classified).
• It uses “mercenaries from all over the world,” “mobilizes in occupied territories,” and involves prisoners on a pay-as-you-go basis, all of which are often not included in the overall lists of enemy casualties.

Counting methods and why the numbers differ

There are several methods for estimating losses:

• Visual verification (Oryx) based on photo or video evidence of damage or destruction.
• Operational intelligence (General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine) includes all types of data that were transmitted from the scene, including not only photos and videos, but also reports, recordings, and more.
• Open sources + obituaries (BBC Russian service and Mediazone) data published by relatives themselves on social networks with personal data and a message (postscript) about death in the war.
• Satellite data and other sources in the intelligence of the world’s states .

The difference in figures arises due to different counting methods and access to information.

For example, reports from various sources for previous periods.

Below are other days of enemy losses in the war against Ukraine for comparison so that you can understand the dynamics of each group of losses separately.

Enemy losses as of 04/05/2026

Enemy losses as of 04/04/2026

Enemy losses as of 03.04.2026

Enemy losses as of 02.04.2026

Enemy losses as of 04/01/2026

Enemy losses as of 31.03.2026

Enemy losses as of 30.03.2026

Enemy losses as of 03/29/2026

Conclusion and forecast

The losses of the Russian army are increasing every day and have remained consistently high since the first days of the war, the longer the war lasts, the higher the losses become from year to year (each year is a record-holder in terms of the number of losses compared to previous years). Despite attempts to hide the real picture, data from various sources indicate that Russia continues to pay an unusually high price for aggression, primarily in manpower, where losses per month consistently exceed 30 thousand killed.

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