The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has now entered its fourth year. The invaders have not achieved their strategic goals, despite throwing all available re
On February 24, 2022, Russian occupation forces launched the invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin expected a quick victory and “Kyiv in three days”.
Instead, the occupiers encountered unprecedented resistance, and the Ukrainian military has been inflicting massive personnel and equipment losses on the enemy for four years.
On the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, ArmyInform reminds us of the price Russians are paying for the Kremlin’s imperial ambitions.
The Enemy Cannot Replenish Its Losses
Over four years of large-scale war, the Russian army has lost 1,260,000 military personnel in Ukraine. This equals the population of Kazan, four cities the size of Belgorod, or three Russian regions — Magadan Oblast, Yakutia, and Chukotka — which together make up 25% of Russia’s territory.
Despite mobilizing and conscripting 406,000 people in 2025, Russia’s total losses amount to about 418,000 soldiers killed and wounded.
Currently, Russia loses 30,000–35,000 troops per month and pays with 156 lives for every kilometer of Ukrainian land it attempts to occupy.
“We aim to reach at least 50,000 confirmed enemy losses each month”, — Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov recently stated.
The share of killed among Russian casualties increased from 30% to 56% by the end of 2025 due to the growing number of drone strikes, which make evacuation difficult — significantly reducing wounded occupiers’ chances of survival.
Since summer 2025, the effectiveness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Drone Systems Forces alone in destroying enemy manpower rose from 4% to 33%.
Russia’s army is also increasingly dependent on foreigners and is forced to recruit thousands of citizens from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Cuba, Nigeria, and Senegal to compensate for major combat losses.
Tanks No Longer Provide an Advantage
The occupiers are losing not only manpower but also armored vehicles on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s Defense Forces have destroyed or disabled 11,657 tanks alone.
Over four years of war, Russia has nearly exhausted its stockpiles of T-72 and T-80 tanks. The few “unmatched” T-90 Proryv tanks that Russia had were also successfully destroyed by Ukrainian defenders.
Russian armored vehicle storage bases are rapidly depleting, forcing the Kremlin to pull even old Soviet-era equipment out of storage.
Three years ago, social media showed videos of Russian T-54/55 tanks — designed even before the end of World War II — and equally outdated T-62 tanks appearing on the battlefield.
Russia’s industry is unable to compensate for tank losses.
As a result, the occupiers have changed tactics, largely abandoning armored columns in favor of wave-based infantry assaults and infiltration tactics.
Russian Ships Have Fled Crimea
Russia has suffered enormous losses not only on land but also at sea. Due to constant strikes by Ukrainian maritime drones, UAVs, and missiles, Russian warships have fled Crimea and are hiding in Novorossiysk.
Ukraine has struck 29 Russian ships and boats and two submarines. Nearly every second Russian vessel in the Black Sea has been hit or destroyed.
Following successful Ukrainian strikes, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet — the missile cruiser Moskva — sank. The large landing ships Saratov, Caesar Kunikov, and Novocherkassk, as well as the missile boat Ivanovets, were also destroyed.
Ukraine opened a new era in military tactics by deploying Magura V5 maritime drones — small unmanned craft that successfully countered large warships.
After targeting the enemy fleet, Ukrainian maritime drones moved on to aviation, achieving the first-ever destruction of Russian helicopters and a Su-30 aircraft over the Black Sea.
Enemy Aircraft Cannot Hide — Even in Murmansk Region
At the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia actively used attack and fighter aviation over Ukrainian territory. Now, Russian aircraft operate only from within Russia and attempt to stay far from the line of contact to avoid being shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.
The conservative estimated value of all lost aircraft is about $26 billion.
Over four years, Russia has lost 435 military aircraft of various types:
- Su-25 attack aircraft,
- Su-27/Su-30 and MiG-29 fighters,
- Su-34 frontline bombers,
- An-26 transport aircraft, and others.
Ukraine’s Defense Forces destroyed two A-50 long-range radar aircraft — a type of aircraft that had never been shot down in any war before.
Russia’s strategic aviation has also suffered losses despite operating far from Ukraine. During Operation “Spiderweb”, Ukraine managed to destroy or damage 41 aircraft, including strategic bombers Tu-95, Tu-160, Tu-22M3, and two A-50s. Russia no longer produces these aircraft and therefore cannot replace them if destroyed.
Russian army aviation has fared no better — 348 helicopters of various types, from Ka-52 and Mi-28 attack helicopters to Mi-8 transport helicopters, have been destroyed over four years.
Four years of War have proven: the outcome is determined not by numbers but by skill, technology, and spirit.
The Ukrainian military destroys the myth of the “second army in the world” every day, demonstrating mastery on land, in the air, and at sea.
It is thanks to the resilience and heroism of Ukrainian soldiers that Ukraine holds the front and inflicts systemic losses on the enemy.
