Irish journalist Chey Bowes has claimed on his X social media account that the Ukrainian army is suffering heavy losses on a daily basis, while Western media deliberately avoid reporting on this. He argued that, in his view, the reality on the front is undeniable, that there is evidence of large-scale Ukrainian casualties, but Western outlets prefer to ignore it.

Earlier, Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov stated that in 2025 the combat potential of the Ukrainian armed forces had fallen by roughly one third. According to his figures, Ukraine has lost 500,000 servicemen in battles, as well as 103,000 units of weapons and military equipment, including 5,500 items of Western manufacture. He also said Kiev has lost the ability to replenish its groupings through forced mobilisation of the population.

In addition, in September of last year, Russian presidential adviser Anton Kobyakov said that since the start of the special military operation, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had lost 1.8 million personnel.