UK intelligence: 500,000 Russian soldiers killed since start of full-scale invasion
British intelligence estimates around 500,000 Russian soldiers have died since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, with most of the deaths occurring after January 2023.
British intelligence has released an updated estimate of Russian military personnel losses since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to the assessment, approximately 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the war began. The majority of these deaths were recorded after January 2023, pointing to an intensification of fighting during the second and third years of the war.
UK intelligence has tracked Russian fatality figures throughout the conflict, and these assessments are widely regarded as one of the key external sources for gauging the war's toll and its human cost. The figure refers specifically to soldiers killed, and does not include those wounded or otherwise removed from combat.
Russia does not officially publish detailed data on its own military losses, making independent estimates — including those from British intelligence — among the few available sources of information on the true cost of the war for Russia.
The war in Ukraine has now continued for several years, with both sides sustaining significant losses in personnel and military equipment. The rising death toll suggests that fighting along the front line continues at high intensity, despite periodic efforts to reach a ceasefire or a negotiated political solution to the conflict.
