A study published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a US-based think tank, estimates that military casualties in the Ukraine war are approaching two million, including soldiers killed, wounded, or missing from both Russia and Ukraine.
According to the report released on Tuesday, Russian forces have sustained the majority of the losses, with an estimated 1.2 million total casualties. Of these, as many as 325,000 soldiers have been reported killed since the conflict began nearly four years ago. The study noted, “No major power has suffered anywhere near these numbers of casualties or fatalities in any war since World War II.”
The report also detailed significant losses for Ukrainian forces, estimating between 500,000 and 600,000 casualties from February 2022 to December 2025. The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed is projected to be between 100,000 and 140,000. CSIS stated that “Combined Russian and Ukrainian casualties may be as high as 1.8 million and could reach two million total casualties by the spring of 2026.”
These figures differ from official statements. In February 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that his country had lost nearly 46,000 troops, a number widely considered by analysts to be an underestimate.
Meanwhile, independent reporting from the BBC’s Russian service and Mediazona, which tracks publicly available data, has confirmed the deaths of over 163,000 Russian soldiers, while acknowledging the actual total is likely higher.
The war has also resulted in a severe civilian toll. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded more than 2,500 civilians killed and over 12,000 wounded in 2025 alone. The UN has verified nearly 15,000 civilian deaths since 2022 but stated that the actual total “is likely considerably higher.”
