Russia losing 'massive' 25,000 troops monthly in Ukraine as war grinds on, NATO chief says

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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Tuesday that Russia is losing between 20,000 and 25,000 troops each month in its war against Ukraine as fighting drags on into a fourth year.

Rutte told the Renew Europe Global Europe Forum in Brussels that the staggering number of casualties reflect the intensity of Ukraine’s defense, but warned that Russia remains NATO’s most significant long-term threat.

He cited Moscow’s round-the-clock weapons production and a pattern of aggressive behavior that he said shows no sign of easing.

“Let’s not forget that the Russians at the moment are losing massive amounts of their soldiers,” the NATO chief said.

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“In months, this is 20 to 25,000 Russians dead. I’m not talking seriously wounded, killed. Dead. Twenty to 25,000 a month,” Rutte told attendees. “When you compare that to the Afghan war in the 1980s, they lost 20,000 in 10 years. Now, they lose these amounts, and more, in one month. So, that’s also unsustainable on their side.”

A June study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based defense and national security think tank, found that Russia has suffered extraordinarily high casualties while making only marginal territorial gains in Ukraine.

Since January 2024, Russian forces have seized about 5,000 square kilometers, less than 1% of Ukraine’s territory, while total Russian casualties have climbed toward 1 million, including as many as 250,000 killed, according to the analysis.

Ukrainian troops train alongside armored vehicles during a coordinated battlefield exercise.

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Moscow has continued striking Kyiv with missiles and drones as Washington works to secure a potential peace agreement to end the conflict.

Repeated Russian strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks have left hundreds of thousands without electricity and heating as temperatures plunge below freezing.

Residents walk toward a heated emergency shelter during extreme cold in a Kyiv neighborhood.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia struck the Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions, targeting its energy facilities and critical infrastructure.

U.S. deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce condemned previous Russian strikes during an emergency Security Council meeting in New York on Monday as a “dangerous and inexplicable escalation.”