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.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pleading with allies for months to let Ukraine fire Western missiles including long-range US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows deep into Russia to limit Moscow’s ability to launch attacks.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden held talks in Washington on Friday on whether to allow Kyiv to use the long-range missiles against targets in Russia. No decision was announced.

“I welcome these developments and these decisions but its for individual allies to make the final decisions,” Stoltenberg told LBC radio.

“Allies have different policies on this.”

Some US officials are deeply skeptical that allowing the use of such missiles would make a significant difference in Kyiv’s battle against Russian invaders.

President Vladimir Putin has stressed the West would be directly fighting Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike with Western-made long-range missiles.

Asked about possible Russian retaliation, Stoltenberg said there were “no risk-free options in the war”.

“But I continue to believe that the biggest risk for us, for United Kingdom, for NATO, will be if President Putin wins in Ukraine,” he added.

In an interview with Foreign Policy, livestreamed on its website, Stoltenberg said NATO will not become a party to the Ukrainian conflict if its member states authorize Kiev to strike at Russian territory with Western-made weapons.

“This is not correct when President Putin says that we will become party to the conflict,” Stoltenberg claimed.

He also added that NATO does not consider Iran and North Korea parties to the conflict over the alleged military aid to Moscow.

According to the Secretary General, NATO closely monitors what Russia is doing in its nuclear posture.

“So far, we haven’t seen any changes in their nuclear posture that require any changes from our side,” he continued, pointing out that there will be no winners in a nuclear war.

NATO allies have not yet reached a consensus on inviting Ukraine to the alliance, Stoltenberg added

“There can be no invitation for Ukraine until we have all allies agreeing. It requires consensus, and we don’t have that yet,” he said.

“In the long run, there can be no peace and security in Ukraine without Ukraine becoming a NATO ally.”

“If you want a quick end to this war <…> then military support for Ukraine is the way,” the official went on to say.