Putin says Russia concentrates over 700,000 troops at front
Photo: Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Getty Images)
"We have a large grouping there — over 700,000 people," the President said.
Updated at 06:35 pm Kyiv time
Putin also issued a decree expanding the size of Russia’s armed forces to 2.399 million personnel. Of these, 1.51 million are military service members. Compared to March 2026, when Putin issued a similar decree, the number of service members has increased by 8,000.
Based on these figures, it appears that nearly half of Russia’s military personnel are currently fighting on the front against Ukraine.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Russian army loses between 30,000 and 35,000 soldiers on the front lines each month.
He also noted that in some sections of the front, the loss ratio between Ukrainian and Russian forces is 1 to 8 in Ukraine’s favor.
In addition, the head of the UK intelligence service GCHQ, Anne Keast-Butler, said that since the start of the full-scale war, Russia has lost nearly 500,000 troops. According to her, the Russian leader is currently "retreating on the battlefield."
Meanwhile, Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, reported that the average cost of eliminating one Russian soldier over the past year was about $918.
RBC-Ukraine also reported that the number of people in Russia willing to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence to participate in the war against Ukraine is declining. Compared to 2025, the number of such volunteers has dropped by about 20%.
