Russia has suffered 'more losses than any major power' since World War II, report says
Russia has suffered "more losses than any major power in any war since World War II," according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which says Moscow has paid a steep price for only limited territorial gains as its war in Ukraine drags into its fourth year.
The CSIS report, published Jan. 27, estimates that Russian forces have sustained nearly 1.2 million casualties — including troops killed, wounded or missing — since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022. As many as 325,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, the report found.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed that his forces have seized the battlefield initiative, CSIS concludes that Russia's advances have been slow and difficult, even after years of fighting.
Near Pokrovsk, the hottest area of the front line throughout 2025, Russian forces advanced at an average rate of only 70 meters per day — a pace slower than even some of the bloodiest battles of the past century.
Overall, Russian forces have gained less than 1.5% of Ukrainian territory since the start of 2024, highlighting what the report describes as "the attritional nature of the war," which has been marked by massive loss of personnel and equipment but limited battlefield gains.
The study also describes Russia as a "second- or third-rate economic power," citing challenges such as declining manufacturing, a labor shortage, and dwindling capital.
Likewise, in emerging technologies, Russia continues to lag, as the country has zero companies among the world's top 100 technology firms and remains behind leading nations in key sectors such as artificial intelligence.
CSIS argues that Russia's economic stagnation and absence in growing industries reflect its broader decline as a major power, increasingly unable to compete with global economic leaders such as China and the United States.
The report's publication comes amid a renewed U.S.-led push to end the war in Ukraine, as well as mounting pressure on Kyiv to make territorial concessions — despite Russia's inability to secure the Donbas region even after more than a decade of fighting.
