Kyiv and Moscow have mostly avoided commenting on the casualties their forces suffered during the war, which has been ongoing for two and half years.
A “confidential Ukrainian estimate from earlier this year” put Kyiv’s losses at 80,000 soldiers killed and 400,000 wounded, the WSJ wrote, citing undisclosed sources.
President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a much lower number of military fatalities in February – 31,000. He did not reveal the number of wounded troops.
Western intelligence estimates cited by the WSJ placed Russian losses at up to 200,000 dead and 400,000 wounded. This is close to Kyiv’s estimates on Moscow’s casualties, which is over 635,000 killed and wounded as of Sept. 17.
Leaking Pentagon documents reported on by The Economist in July suggest that Russian losses could be even more serious, with the highest estimate being 728,000 troops killed, injured, or captured.
Moscow has not disclosed its casualties during the war. The last figure provided by Russian authorities was 5,937 killed soldiers as of September 2022.
Both Ukraine and Russia have sought to replenish the ranks of their militaries as there appears to be no end of the war in sight. Kyiv adopted new legislation on mobilization in the spring, lowering the conscription age from 27 to 25 and imposing stricter penalties for dodging draft.
In turn, Russia carried out a partial mobilization in September 2022 and, according to Ukraine’s intelligence, continues “covertly” drafting roughly 30,000 troops every month. Moscow primarily targets residents of economically weaker regions and migrants rather than men from wealthy urban centers to avoid discontent and an economic downturn.
The war brought a demographic shock to both countries, already struggling with population growth. An estimated 14 million Ukrainians have been displaced by the war, including nearly 6.5 million who fled or were forced out abroad.
Around 650,000 Russians have permanently relocated abroad since the start of the invasion in 2022, motivated by fears of draft or opposition to the war.
