150,000 Russian soldiers killed fighting Ukraine in 2024, Syrskyi says
Russian forces suffered their heaviest losses last year since the start of the full-scale war, with total military losses reaching 434,000 soldiers, including approximately 150,000 killed in combat during 2024, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a Jan. 19 interview with the Ukrainian news outlet TSN.
"In this year of fighting, (Russian President Vladimir Putin) lost more than in the previous two years of the war (combined)," Syrskyi said.
As of Jan. 19, Russia has lost a total of 818,740 troops since the full-scale invasion began, Ukraine's General Staff reported. The estimate, which is broadly in-line with estimates made by Western intelligence agencies, likely includes those killed, captured, wounded, and missing.
Russia has gained ground in eastern Ukraine and Kursk Oblast over the past year but at the cost of heavy casualties.
Russian losses reached record highs in November and December, with a daily high of 2,030 troops lost in November, marking the highest daily loss since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Moscow does not disclose its casualty figures, though a Defense Ministry official recently let slip that the department received 48,000 requests to identify missing soldiers.
According to a joint investigation by BBC Russia and Mediazona, journalists have identified the names of 88,726 Russian soldiers who died during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the outlets' conclusions for the year, 2024 will likely mark the "war's deadliest year," with a current count of over 20,000 confirmed deaths over the past 12 months — although final conclusions cannot yet be made as data on casualties continues to emerge.
In December, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in a rare statement that Ukraine had lost 43,000 soldiers on the battlefield since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
When asked during the wide-ranging interview about the Ukrainian losses, Syrskyi broadly replied that there were "many times" less Ukrainian losses than those sustained by the Russians.
At the current rate of Russian military casualties, Russian losses are expected to surpass 1 million troops within six months.
Abbey Fenbert
