The Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost more than 1.5 million people since the start of Russia’s special military operation, including over 520,000 in 2025 alone, Sergey Rudskoy, Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff and First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said in an interview with the newspaper Red Star.

According to Rudskoy, the average monthly number of people mobilized in Ukraine has decreased by nearly half. He stated that this has created a steady trend toward a reduction in the size of the Ukrainian army and, as a result, limits the Ukrainian Armed Forces' ability to resist Russian force groupings.

Rudskoy also said that in 2025 the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost about 6,700 tanks and armored combat vehicles, as well as more than 12,000 artillery guns and mortars.

In addition, he stated that last year the Russian army fully seized the strategic initiative in the special military operation zone. According to his figures, in 2025 more than 300 settlements and over 6,700 square kilometers of territory were taken, and since the beginning of this year Russian forces have taken control of about 900 more square kilometers and 42 settlements.