Soldiers prepare a cannon to fire and load it with shells as Ukrainian forces with the 117th territorial defense brigade operate an artillery position in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, on June 19, 2025. (Nikoletta Stoyanova/Getty Images)
Russia has lost 1,073,530 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Aug. 21.
The number includes 830 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,120 tanks, 23,157 armored fighting vehicles, 59,316 vehicles and fuel tanks, 31,789 artillery systems, 1,471 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,209 air defense systems, 422 airplanes, 340 helicopters, 52,469 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
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Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) struck a Russian patrol boat in the Black Sea near the occupied town of Zaliznyi Port in Kherson Oblast, killing five crew members, HUR reported on Aug. 21.
"There’s the dawning reality that this will be Europe making this happen on the ground... The U.S. is not fully committed to anything," an unnamed NATO diplomat said.
The plan would require countries that have signed security agreements with Ukraine to deliberate and respond quickly in the event of another Russian attack following a peace agreement. It would not include NATO membership for Ukraine.
Closer to Ukraine, Lithuania said it was ready to put troops on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force, while Poland said its soldiers would assist the "coalition of the willing" from Poland.
In a joint statement, representatives of five Security Council members — Denmark, France, Greece, the United Kingdom and Slovenia — along with incoming member Latvia, denounced Russia's invasion of Georgia 17 years ago and its continued military presence in the country's Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions.
Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed that the object, which fell into a cornfield near the village of Osiny, was a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle.
The Kyiv Independent spent a day with the 20th Separate UAV Regiment, also known as K-2, which specializes in ground robots, in northern Donetsk Oblast. We also spoke with the regiment's commander, Kyrylo Veres, about how these machines could shape the next phase of warfare in Ukraine, helping to reduce the risk to soldiers amid a growing manpower shortage.
