Russia's daily losses 3 times higher than Ukraine's, Zelensky says

Russia's daily average casualties in the war in Ukraine amount to roughly 1,000, about three times the number of Ukrainian losses, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a meeting with journalists on Aug. 12 attended by the Kyiv Independent.

"For example, yesterday's figures, which are roughly average: Russian losses per day were about 1,000 – 500 killed and 500 wounded," Zelensky said.

Even as Russian forces have incurred massive losses amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, their advance has picked up pace in recent months in the face of undermanned Ukrainian brigades in eastern Donetsk Oblast.

Providing more detailed figures, Zelensky said that Russia suffered 531 soldiers killed, 428 injured, and nine captured on Aug. 11. In turn, Ukraine's losses amounted to 340, including 18 killed, 243 injured, and 79 missing, he claimed.

"That’s about 1-to-3 — their losses are three times higher," Zelensky claimed.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the figures.

The Ukrainian military claims Russian casualties surpass 1 million killed, wounded, and captured as of August, a figure largely in line with Western estimates. Moscow does not disclose its casualty figures.

A June study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that 400,000 Ukrainian troops have also been killed or wounded since 2022, a tally close to the figure provided by Zelensky in December.

At the same time, Moscow has a 1-to-3 advantage in manpower and a 1-to-2.4 advantage in artillery, Zelensky said.

Ukraine holds a 1-to-1.4 advantage in first-person-view (FPV) drones, a ratio that could reach even 1-to-4 with additional funding from European partners, according to the president.

Kyiv has long been struggling with infantry shortages, lacking the capacity to offset the losses at the same pace as Russia.

Thinned Ukrainian defenses provide potential openings for Russian advances. Moscow's forces reportedly advanced up to 10 kilometers near Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast earlier this week as part of a broader offensive between two major embattled towns, Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka.