Russia suffers record losses at the front in Ukraine and changes tactics

British intelligence estimates that the total losses of the Russian Federation since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 are approximately 950,000 dead and wounded. In the first four months of 2025, Russia lost approximately 160,000 people.

“If such losses continue until the end of 2025, it will be the most expensive year of the war for Russia in terms of human losses. So far in 2025, Russia has not been able to turn its constant heavy losses into significant successes in Ukraine,” the British intelligence officers noted.

According to intelligence reports, ISW noted that the Russian army’s offensive pace has slowed recently, but casualties remain as high as in the fall of 2024.

Since the beginning of the year, Russian troops have taken control of 1,627 square kilometers in Ukraine and the Kursk region (Russia). At the same time, Russia is losing an average of 99 people per square kilometer (59 people per square kilometer last fall).

According to U.S. and Western intelligence, Russian dictator Putin may have changed his tactical goals in the war against Ukraine, focusing on holding on to the seized territories and supporting the Russian economy.

This may indicate that the Kremlin is moving away from its previous strategy, which envisioned a protracted war aimed at the complete subjugation of Ukraine. This change, according to Washington, reinforces the Trump team’s belief that there is now a chance for peace.