Russia claims nearly 500,000 Ukrainian troops killed in 2025 war

Russia has claimed that nearly 500,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war so far this year, a figure that—if accurate—would represent one of the heaviest annual losses since the conflict began.

Speaking at a high-level meeting of Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday (December 17), Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said that from January 2025 to the present, Ukrainian forces have suffered catastrophic manpower losses that Kyiv will struggle to replace in the near future.

The meeting was attended by President Vladimir Putin, according to Russia’s state broadcaster RT.

Belousov argued that the scale of casualties has severely weakened Ukraine’s ability to regenerate its armed forces and has reduced public willingness to comply with compulsory military mobilisation.

Beyond personnel losses, the Russian defense minister claimed that Ukraine has also lost more than 103,000 units of weapons and military equipment this year alone. This reportedly includes around 5,500 tanks and armored vehicles, many of them supplied by Western allies.

The war began in 2022 after years of escalating tensions over Ukraine’s push toward NATO membership and its refusal to recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Following the start of the invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed a ban on men aged 18 to 60 leaving the country.

Ukraine initially set the minimum conscription age at 27, later lowering it to 25 in an effort to bolster troop numbers. Over the past year, reports have emerged of clashes between civilians and recruitment officials in several regions, amid allegations of coercive enlistment practices.

Ukraine has not yet issued an official response to Russia’s latest claims, which cannot be independently verified.