Key Points – As Russia’s combat losses in Ukraine approach the one million mark, the demographic profile of its casualties has shifted dramatically, according to a June 8th update from Ukraine’s General Staff.
-While the initial phase of the war primarily saw losses among young professional soldiers (ages 21-23), the peak casualty age group is now 33-35.
-This reflects Russia’s strategic pivot to a larger army of over 600,000, now sustained by mobilized reservists and older volunteer contract soldiers.
-Moscow appears willing to absorb these staggering losses to continue its war of attrition, seemingly viewing this new composition of forces as more expendable.
Russia’s One Million Casualties – Who Are They?
As Russia’s combat losses rapidly approach one million soldiers, an update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has offered an insight into the scale of Russia’s losses as the battlefield shifts away from traditional warfare and towards a combination of asymmetric tactics and aerial bombardments.
In a June 8 update shared on Facebook, Ukrainian officials estimated total combat losses of 996,150, including 1,120 soldiers in the previous 24 hours. The update also claimed that the Russian army had lost 10,911 tanks, 22,748 armored combat vehicles, 28,892 artillery systems, 1,410 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,183 air defense systems, 414 aircraft, 337 helicopters, and 39,651 unmanned aerial vehicles.
Russia is also said to have lost 3,315 cruise missiles, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
Who Are They?
Russia’s alarmingly large combat loss figures, which account for soldiers both injured and killed on the battlefield, signals that Moscow – despite losing numbers not seen since the Second World War – considers these large-scale losses a price worth paying for victory in Ukraine.
And, while Russia has the manpower to continue, the sheer scale of these losses means that Russia’s armed forces are rapidly changing, too.
Casualty figures show a clear age shift throughout the course of the war. In the first six months of the invasion, when fighting was carried out almost entirely by Russia’s regular professional army, the majority of those killed were young men between the ages of 21 and 23. However, as the war progressed and Russia began relying on a wider pool of manpower, the average age of casualties began to increase. This is largely a result of “volunteer” recruits and reservists being, on average, older than regular members of Russia’s armed forces.
As of June 5, 2025, the age group with the most casualties (injuries and death) was 33-35, with a total of 10,890.
The demographic composition of Russian forces in Ukraine is dramatically different in 2025 than it was in 2022. The overall size of Russia’s deployed force is notably higher, expanding from an initial invasion force of between 150,000 and 200,000 to more than 600,000 by early 2025. Russia’s troops are now made up of a combination of mobilized reservists, who form the backbone of the military at present.
Roughly 300,000 men were called up in the autumn 2022 mobilization, the majority of whom were sent to the frontlines. Volunteer contract soldiers form another substantial part of its military, following aggressive recruitment efforts that saw each region of Russia assigned enlistment quotas.
Volunteer contract soldiers range in age, though most are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Pre-war professional soldiers, while still present, now play essential roles in leadership, in elite units, and in specialized fields.
What remains of Russia’s professional army now leads a force that is older, larger, and, apparently, more expendable.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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bobb
June 9, 2025 at 11:09 pm
Putin is useless, but his potbellied generals even worse.
Putin needs to flatten ukro cities and not visit here and there and hold meetings and sports events and parades.
If he can’t flatten ukro cities, at least flatten ukro airfields,airports and airbases.
It’s warfare 101.
He can’t even do that. Useless.
In china, Putin has a twin. His name is xi jinping.
Chris Lane
June 10, 2025 at 5:05 am
Neocon propaganda.
Addressing the bogus loss figures:
BBC and Mediazona (both anti-Putin/pro-Ukraine media outlets) put Russian KIA at 130K. They explain their methodology. Western MSM simply repeats whatever numbers the Ukrainians make up. Ukrainian KIA is much higher. For one thing this has been verified by satellite showing large expansions of cemeteries in Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent and the NYT both had articles last year titles “Outnumbered and Outgunned”. The articles described how Ukraine was at a disadvantage due to the Russian much higher firepower (5:1 or higher) and Russia putting greater numbers of soldiers in the field. So how is Ukraine suffering fewer losses than an enemy that outnumbers and outguns them? How are Ukraine’s numbers dwindling and Russia’s numbers expanding if Ukraine is losing fewer soldiers than the Russians. Russia gets 20K to 30K+ volunteers a month (in MSM media) but Ukraine could not get more than 500 volunteers after running a similar program of generous benefits for military service. No one in Ukraine wants to volunteer for any amount of benefit if your chance of death is very high. Last year the NYT had an article stating that Ukraine had 100K desertions. And in 2025 MSM has reported a high desertion rate for Ukraine but not for Russia. So what is the estimate. Given a 5:1 firepower advantage, and higher numbers of soldiers it would be safe to say Russia’s casualty rate is 1 for every 5 Ukrainians.
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