Russian losses in Ukraine 'astonishing,' former MI6 chief says

Russia may have lost about twice as many soldiers in Ukraine in December 2025 as the Soviet Union lost during the Soviet-Afghan War, a former British intelligence chief said on Feb. 10.

Sir Richard Moore, the former MI6 chief, gave an interview on Sky News' on the World podcast with journalist Yalda Hakim on Feb. 10, where he said that about 30,000 Russians were killed in Ukraine in December, describing the number as "astonishing."

Moore compared this monthly death toll for Russian soldiers to the casualties in the Soviet-Afghan war, which lasted for 10 years (1979-1989) and resulted in the death of approximately 15,000 Soviet soldiers.

"The losses are terrible, and even the Russians will struggle to replace that level of losses. So, they continue to do appallingly badly on the battlefield," Moore said.

Moore added that despite the losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin "is more comfortable than he should be."

"We should be adding more pressure. We should be helping the Ukrainians more extensively than we are. We should be giving them more permissions than we are at the moment," Moore said.

In December 2025, Russian losses for the first time exceeded the number of newly recruited contract soldiers, according to Ukraine's General Staff. Russia added 27,400 contract soldiers that month, while its losses reached 33,200 killed and wounded.

In previous months, the balance was more favorable for the Kremlin, according to Ukrainian figures.

In November 2025, losses amounted to about 31,000, while more than 33,300 people were recruited on contract. In October, the figures stood at 31,500 losses versus 35,600 new contract soldiers.

In September Moore warned that he sees "no evidence" that Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested in negotiated peace in Ukraine except for full capitulation.

He made the statement when announcing MI6 would be launching a dark web portal to reach potential spies in Russia and other rival countries.

The British intelligence agency said it is using the dark web for the first time to minimize risks for the spies. MI6 shared instructions on how to use the platform on YouTube in several languages, including Russian.

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The Kyiv IndependentTania Myronyshena