'We aim to kill 50,000 Russians a month,' Ukraine's new defense minister says
Ukraine aims to "kill 50,000 Russians per month," the country's new defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said during a meeting with the media.
Laying out his plan in his new role, Fedorov said he had two priorities, the first of which is "management."
"Management must be built around those capable of achieving defined goals. If people don’t demonstrate measurable results, they can’t remain in the system," said.
"The second strategic objective is to kill 50,000 Russians per month," he said.
"Last month, 35,000 were killed; all these losses are verified on video. If we reach 50,000, we will see what happens to the enemy. They view people as a resource, and shortages are already evident."
Moscow and Kyiv rarely officially report their own losses. Ukraine estimates that Russia's overall casualties during the full-scale war have surpassed 1,200,000.
Despite the heavy losses, Russia has been able to make marginal advances in Ukraine's front line region as it is able to offset its casualties through fresh contract soldiers. The Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState reported that Russian forces occupied 4,336 square kilometers (1,674 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in 2025, accounting for less than 1% of the country
In turn, Kyiv has faced increasingly serious manpower shortages, particularly among infantry units holding the front line.
In a rare report, Fedorov said on Jan. 14 that two million Ukrainians are wanted for evading mobilization, and another 200,000 soldiers are absent without official leave (AWOL), as infantry units continue to struggle to refill heavy losses.
As of Jan. 17, Ukraine's General Staff estimates that Russia has lost 1,225,590 troops in Ukraine since the start of the war on Feb. 24, 2022, which includes those injured, killed, and missing.
The numbers are largely in line with estimates made by Western intelligence agencies.
The Ukrainian parliament on Jan. 14 appointed Fedorov as defense minister.
Fedorov had previously served as deputy prime minister and digital transformation minister before replacing Shmyhal. The latter had led the Defense Ministry for less than six months.Under Fedorov's leadership, the Digital Transformation Ministry spearheaded multiple projects, including drone production.
He also played a key role in launching Brave1, a project that links his ministry with the Defense Ministry to advance military tech.
