Russia has likely lost over one million soldiers in the meat grinder of Eastern Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin decided to invade a neighboring sovereign country, new research indicates.
The analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) paints a grim picture more reminiscent of World War One than any other modern conflict, with Russian forces reportedly paying for every mile of territory gained with thousands of lives.
The scale of the reported losses are difficult to comprehend. In 2025, according to the analysis, Russia suffered as many casualties every six weeks as the US lost in the entire 19 years of the Vietnam War.
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But despite this massive human cost, estimated at 1.2 million casualties (those killed, wounded, and missing), the Russian bear has only managed to snap up approximately 12 percent of Ukraine’s landmass between February 2022 and December 2025.Of this total, the CSIS estimated roughly 275,000 to 325,000 Russian soldiers had died since the start of the invasion – the largest number of combat de* fresh report from the Washington think tank paints a different picture to that presented by many who think the war’s outcome is an inevitable Russian victory, it also showed the grim impact it has had on the male fighting age population of Ukraine – where all men over 25 are conscripted into service.
Ukraine, whose population is said to be around five times smaller than Russia’s, has reportedly seen between 500,000 and 600,000 battlefield casualties since the outbreak of the conflict.
Of this total, up to 140,000 are believed to have been killed.
In addition to this revealing analysis about the scale of death taking place on the frontlines in Eastern Europe, the CSIS report also detailed how much land Russia has managed to snap up in 2025, when it deployed North Korean troops, prisoners, and enlisted men from around the world to reinforce its numbers.
Ukrainian conscripts are defending every inch of soil with their lives (Richart Barbeira/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukrainian conscripts are defending every inch of soil with their lives (Richart Barbeira/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Unlike in the first days of its invasion of Ukraine and attack on Kharkiv in 2022, when Russian forces were reportedly capturing up to 7,400 meters of territory per day, the rate of advancement since 2024 has ground to almost a halt.
Two of the main focal points for Putin’s army, the areas around Donetsk and Kharkiv, have seen many units paying a blood cost for just meters of land – with the average rate of advancement sitting below 25 yards per day on both fronts.
This crawling pace of advance through mines, drones, and mile after mile of Ukrainian trenches, is slower than any other army in any other major conflict in the past 100 years, according to the CSIS report.
The reports depicts a vastly different image of the blood soaked conflict that’s often presented to the public, where Putin’s much larger army and war economy are treated as the inevitable victors in the war.
Instead, Ukraine’s against-the-odds defense of its territorial integrity and sovereignty against a much larger power appears to have been largely successful.
« A close look at the data suggests that Russia is hardly winning and, even more interestingly, that Russia is increasingly a declining power, » the report states.
Yet in a war of attrition, it is not your ability to win set-piece battles or kill enemy soldiers that ends the bloodshed, it is the capacity of you citizens to weather the horror of your losses. With the report estimating that casualty totals could reach two million by Spring this year.
Trump warns Russia of a ‘new step of aggression’ if it doesn’t end war in Ukraine
The POTUS threatened to send a new weapon to Ukraine to urge Putin to end the conflict
Emily Brown
Emily Brown
Donald Trump has warned Russia he may take a ‘new step of aggression’ in the form of hefty weapons if Vladimir Putin doesn’t put an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The POTUS issued his latest threat to Russia while speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday (October 12), while still reeling from losing out on the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump has previously claimed he deserved the award after putting an end to ‘six wars’, but his loss hasn’t deterred him from trying to end another one.
As Russia continues its attacks, Trump warned the country that he could bolster Ukraine’s defences with Tomahawks – American-made missiles which can launch from the ground, ships or submarines.
The weapons are capable of striking targets precisely from more than 1,000 miles away, meaning Ukraine could use them to target Moscow.Sharing his plan to try and end the war, Trump said: “I might say, ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks’. The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that.
“I might tell them that if the war is not settled – that we may very well. We may not, but we may do it. I think it’s appropriate to bring up.”
The president added that he had spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about sending Tomahawks to his country; a claim Zelenskyy appeared to corroborate when he was asked on Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing whether Trump had approved the Tomahawks.
The Ukrainian president said: « We work on it. I’m waiting for president to yes. Of course we count on such decisions, but we will see. We will see.”
Back on Air Force One, Trump went on to discuss how the threat could encourage Russia to end the war.“Do they want to have Tomahawks going in that direction? I don’t think so,” Trump said. “I think I might speak to Russia about that. Tomahawks are a new step of aggression.”
Despite Putin being the one to start the conflict in Ukraine, Trump said he thought the Russian leader would ‘look great’ if he got the war settled, noting that if not, ‘it’s not going to be good for him’.
After Trump shared his ideas, Moscow expressed fears over the idea of Tomahawk missiles being provided to Ukraine, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying: « The topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern.”
Donald Trump issues urgent plea to Russia and Ukraine as Putin makes new proposal
Trump has spoken out after Putin called for Russian officials to meet Ukrainian officials for a meeting on Thursday (May 15)
Joe Yates
Joe Yates
President Donald Trump has taken a swipe at both President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine, as he pushed once more for a peace deal to be signed to bring the war in Eastern Europe to an end.
Taking to Truth Social, he posted: « President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY.
« At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!
« I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!! »
It comes as Putin has proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday (May 15), ‘without preconditions’.
Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Putin proposed to ‘restart’ peace talks Russia and Ukraine held in 2022.
“We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine,” Putin said, adding that he does not rule out agreeing to a ceasefire later, in the course of direct talks with Ukraine.
His remarks came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Putin if he does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.
The leaders of France, the UK, Germany and Poland said their proposal for a ceasefire to start on Monday was supported by Trump, whom they had briefed over the phone earlier in the day.
Putin on Sunday once again said the Kremlin needs a truce that would lead to a ‘lasting peace’ instead of one that would allow Ukraine to rearm and mobilise more men into its armed forces.
He said he would speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and ask him to facilitate the peace talks this Thursday, saying ‘those who truly want peace cannot but support’ his proposal to restart the peace talks.
Putin did not directly address this latest ceasefire proposal, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Saturday told CNN that Moscow will need to consider the proposal.Earlier that day, Peskov reiterated Russia’s claim that it was ready for peace talks with Ukraine ‘without preconditions’ and accused Kyiv of blocking those.
Russia’s own unilateral three-day ceasefire, declared for the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany expired on Saturday, and Ukraine said Russian forces have repeatedly violated it.
In March, the US proposed an immediate, limited 30-day truce, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters alongside the European leaders in Kyiv, called their meeting ‘a very important signal’.
In a joint statement, as published on Zelenskyy’s official website, the five leaders called for a ceasefire ‘lasting at least 30 days’ from Monday, to make room for a diplomatic push to end the war.
“An unconditional ceasefire by definition cannot be subject to any conditions. If Russia calls for such conditions, this can only be considered as an effort to prolong the war and undermine diplomacy,” the statement read.
The head of Britain’s secretive MI6 has made disturbing claims about the state of the Russia-Ukraine war – and his words are sparking fears of an escalating global crisis… World War III.
Sir Richard Moore, chief of the UK’s foreign intelligence agency, made it clear during a press briefing today (September 19) that peace talks with Vladimir Putin are a total non-starter right now.
According to Moore, there’s ‘absolutely no evidence’ that the Russian president has any real interest in ending the conflict, and he’s accused Putin of playing the West for fools.
Moore told reporters that he believed the 72-year-old is ‘stringing us along’, warning that Putin is using every trick in the book to push his own imperial ambitions, but that the Russian leader has seriously misjudged the strength and resilience of Ukraine. »He seeks to impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal. But he cannot succeed, » the 62-year-old Sir Moore said.
« Bluntly, Putin has bitten off more than he can chew. He thought he was going to win an easy victory. But he, and many others, underestimated the Ukrainians. »
The warning comes just after President Donald Trump, during a high-profile visit to the UK, admitted Putin had ‘let me down’.
Trump had previously claimed his personal connection with the Russian president would help broker peace – but that plan has seemingly hit a wall.
The war, which began in February 2022 with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has already taken tens of thousands of lives, and according to Moore, it’s pushing Ukraine further into the arms of the West, while simultaneously dragging Russia backwards. »Putin has sought to convince the world that Russian victory is inevitable. But he lies. He lies to the world. He lies to his people. Perhaps he even lies to himself, » he said.
« [Putin is] mortgaging his country’s future for his own personal legacy and a distorted version of history », he added, suggesting the war is only ‘accelerating this decline’.
The speech, delivered in Istanbul, also came as MI6 announced the launch of a new encrypted dark web tool, dubbed ‘Silent Courier’, aimed at recruiting spies from inside Russia and beyond.
« To those men and women in Russia who have truths to share and the courage to share them, I invite you to contact MI6, » Sir Moore said.
His departure this month marks the end of a five-year tenure, and his replacemen, Blaise Metreweli, will become the first woman to lead MI6 in its history.
