Russia Loses 250,000 Troops as Soldiers Struggle in Ukraine: Kyiv

The number of Russian troops killed since the start of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has passed 250,000, according to the Ukrainian armed forces.

On Monday, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported that Russia has lost 250,240 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of the war Russian President Vladimir Putin launched on February 24, 2022.

Newsweek has not been able to independently verify Ukraine's tally, and other estimates tend to be more conservative than Kyiv's. The Kremlin does not frequently comment on its own estimates of troop casualties, and when it does, experts have said its numbers are not accurate.

But if going by Ukraine's data, Russia hit the 250,000 milestone as Putin's forces continue to struggle against Kyiv's counteroffensive. While Ukraine's military operation has received criticism for its perceived slowness, analysts have also remarked on Russia's inability to achieve significant success on the ground.

Ukraine's General Staff on August 2 reported Russian forces had failed in its attempts to take positions around the village of Staromaiorske in the Donetsk region as well as in the Bakhmut direction.

Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank has noted advancements made by Ukraine in its counteroffensive in recent days, while the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense (MoD) this week wrote in an intelligence update that the Russian army in southern Ukraine is "highly likely struggling with battle fatigue and attrition in forward deployed regiments which have been in intense combat for over eight weeks."

ISW has also reported that Russia is risking troops' "degradation" in Ukraine due to a lack of "combat-ready" reservists. In an assessment last month, the think tank cited pro-Kremlin military bloggers who said Russia's army was lacking defensive capabilities in southern Ukraine due to an inability to "rotate" troops in and out of combat. The reason given for this situation was "because there are no available personnel to replace them with," according to ISW.

Russia has reportedly struggled to replace the troops it has lost in Ukraine due to the inability to meet recruitment goals. In late March, the MoD noted that while the Kremlin was preparing a "major military recruitment campaign" with the hope of signing up an additional 400,000 troops in 2023, Russia would likely fall well short of that target.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.

Speculation has grown that the Kremlin could implement a second mobilization order to fill its ranks in Ukraine. One sign that this could be a possibility is Putin signed a new law Sunday that dramatically increased fines for those trying to dodge military summons.

Last month, Russia's parliament also extended the maximum age at which men can be mobilized to serve in the military. The law, passed on July 18, allows men to serve up to the age of 70.