Ukrainian intelligence reveals losses among Russian convict recruits
Photo: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported on the losses of Russian troops (Getty Images)
From July 2024 to the end of April 2025, 14,560 individuals from among the convicted and those under investigation were enrolled in the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. At the same time, losses among previously convicted Russians amounted to almost 30%, according to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU).
According to DIU data, these individuals signed contracts with the occupying forces in order to avoid criminal liability and to earn money.
According to the reports of the occupying forces themselves, only in the period from January to April 2025, irreversible losses among such soldiers amounted to at least 4,212 killed or missing, not counting the wounded.
It is noted that this is more than 28% of the total number of new arrivals. Among the dead are a significant number of people aged 18–19. The youngest turned out to be a private of the 111th Rifle Regiment born in 2006.
"These facts are yet another testimony to the Kremlin’s cynical policy of turning youth and marginalized groups of the population into expendable material in the war against Ukraine," added the DIU.
Russian losses in the war
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since the beginning of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia has lost about 1,031,000 military personnel.
At the same time, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukrainian defenders managed to eliminate over 230,000 Russian troops in the first six months of 2025. This includes both wounded and killed Russians.
Yesterday, July 10, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that since the beginning of 2025, Russia has lost 100,000 soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine. Ukrainian army losses are smaller.
