Up to 640,000 Russian troops fighting against Ukraine, Syrskyi says

Editor's note: the headline of this article was corrected, as it previously stated "upwards of 640,000 Russian soldiers fighting against Ukraine."

Russia has deployed up to 640,000 soldiers in combat against Ukraine,  Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said at the the NATO-Ukraine Council on May 15.

Vadym Skibitskyi, the deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), reported in March that Russia had deployed 620,000 soldiers to fight in Ukraine, a rise from his previous estimate of nearly 580,000 in November 2024.

"Moscow has turned its aggression against Ukraine into a war of attrition and is using a combined force of up to 640,000 troops," Syrskyi told members of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

"Our soldiers continue to conduct an effective defense operation, inflicting significant losses on the enemy."

The total number of Russian military personnel marks a growing trend, as Russia continues to intensify operations in various regions of the front line.

The Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials, that Russia appears to be preparing a significant offensive despite expected ceasefire talks this week and calls by Kyiv and its partners for an unconditional 30-day truce.

Russia has gained ground in eastern Ukraine and Kursk Oblast in recent months but at the cost of heavy casualties as well as equipment losses.

As of May 15, Russia has lost a total of 970,590 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.

On Feb. 24, independent Russian media outlets Meduza and Mediazona estimated in a report that around 165,000 Russian troops have been killed since the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including nearly 100,000 in 2024.

President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Feb. 15 that Moscow had lost around 250,000 soldiers, with 20,000 killed in battles for Russia's Kursk Oblast alone. While Kyiv does not regularly disclose total casualty country, that number has likely significantly increased in recent months.

In an interview with NBC published on Feb. 16, Zelensky said over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 380,000 injured on the battlefield.