News Feed

Nearly 700,000 Russian military personnel deployed in Ukraine, intelligence says

2 min read
Nearly 700,000 Russian military personnel deployed in Ukraine, intelligence says
Russian soldiers march during the Victory Day military parade at Red Square, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II over Nazi Germany and its allies, on May 9, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. (VCG via Getty Images)

There are close to 700,000 Russian service members deployed in Ukraine, including National Guard soldiers, special forces, and support units, Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on Sept. 5.

"The majority is deployed in Donetsk Oblast, which shows... (Russia's) priorities," Yusov said in an interview with Ukrainian news channel Novyny.Live.

Ukraine's army fields almost 900,000 service members across the country, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said in January that Russia continues to hold a numerical advantage in some front-line sectors due to the concentration of forces.

At the time, the Russian contingent in Ukraine counted 600,000 troops, Zelensky said.

Despite reportedly suffering over 1 million soldiers killed and wounded during the full-scale war, Russia has been consistently able to offset its losses by fresh contract soldiers, while Kyiv faces increasingly critical manpower shortages.

Moscow has also received North Korean reinforcements, with thousands of troops expected to arrive after the initial batch of 11,000-12,000 soldiers who were deployed in Russia's Kursk Oblast in late 2024.

The North Korean contingent helped Russia fend off a Ukrainian incursion into the Russian border region, reportedly suffering 2,000 soldiers killed in combat.

When asked if North Korean troops have joined hostilities on Ukrainian territory, Yusov responded that Pyongyang's forces currently remain in Russia.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing earlier this week, has been a key ally to Moscow during the full-scale war, providing not only soldiers but also artillery shells and ballistic missiles.

"Along the entire front, 40-60% of artillery shells fired at Ukraine and Ukrainian soldiers are North Korean-made — these are huge numbers," Yusov said.

"If this factor were taken away, Russia's fire support and strike capabilities would be much smaller," the spokesperson said, noting that North Korean artillery and missile supplies play a much more significant role than the troop deployment.

Behind Ukraine’s manpower crisis lies a bleak new battlefield reality for infantry
Editor’s Note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. DONETSK OBLAST – Since he first volunteered to take up arms and defend his country in January this year, 54-year-old Ukrainian infantryman Ruslan “Kalyna” has only been on one combat mission. One 146-day combat mission. The trees were still bare and the air bitterly cold when Ruslan, an ex-convict soldier in Ukraine’s 93rd Mechan
Article image
Avatar
Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

Read more
News Feed
Show More