Overview

• A document published on October 6 and attributed by Ukrainian intelligence to Russian data lists 281,550 Russian personnel losses from January through August 2025, including 86,744 killed, 33,966 missing, 158,529 wounded and 2,311 captured.
• Frontelligence Insight and other open-source groups say the totals align with their estimates, while Mediazona, whose joint project with the BBC has named more than 134,000 Russian dead, questions some sector-specific figures.
• The Institute for the Study of War estimates Russia recruits about 31,600 troops monthly while suffering roughly 35,193 casualties per month, indicating losses exceed inflows.
• Frontelligence reports a sharp rise in foreign sign-ups, with 651 contracts from Africa and the Middle East in the first half of 2025 compared with 394 across 2023–2024.
• Ukraine reports the frontline expanded by roughly 200 kilometers this year with continued Russian pushes near Pokrovsk and Dobropillia, as Ukrainian drones and fires drive high losses and a reported wounded-to-dead ratio near 1.3 to 1 for Russian forces.