Russian forces battling against Ukraine in 2024 have experienced the highest casualty rate since the onset of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

The New Year’s Day tally from Ukraine, accounting for both fatalities and injuries, indicates that Russia lost a staggering 430,790 troops over the past year.

This figure marks a significant increase from the estimated quarter of a million casualties that Kyiv claimed Russia suffered in 2023.

Given last year’s tally of 360,010, this suggests that the number of dead or injured Russian personnel over the past 12 months totals 430,790.

Kyiv’s reported Russian losses for 2023 stood at 253,290, a significant increase from the 106,720 losses recorded between the start of the war on February 24, 2022, and January 1, 2023.

In contrast, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky stated in December that the conflict had claimed the lives of 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers and resulted in 370,000 injuries, although this figure includes troops injured multiple times.

Zelensky also claims that 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and 550,000 wounded.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analysed Russian troop losses against territorial gains, estimating that Moscow suffered approximately 102 casualties for every 0.3 square miles of Ukrainian territory seized last year.

This calculation was based on a lower estimate of 420,000 Russian casualties and took into account the 1,609 square miles of territory that evidence suggests Russia had gained, primarily comprising fields and small settlements in Ukraine and Kursk Oblast.

The think tank previously reported that intensified Russian offensive operations between September and November resulted in Moscow gaining 909 square miles, or 56.5% of the total territorial gains for the year, at the cost of an estimated 125,800 casualties.

The Ukrainian General Staff has revealed that Russian casualties averaged 1,585 per day in December.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief, stated on December 30 that Russia had lost 1,700 troops in just the previous week, with most losses occurring in the Donetsk region.

As we move into 2025, Russia seems to maintain its battlefield momentum, despite likely continuing to suffer high personnel losses as they persist in their operations to seize Chasiv Yar in Donetsk and reportedly plan a further push south in Zaporizhzhia.

However, Russia appears to be successfully recruiting enough troops to offset these losses.

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairperson of the Russian Security Council, announced on December 24 that 440,000 recruits had signed military service contracts in 2024.