Syrskyi names the casualty ratio between Ukraine and Russia on the front line
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has revealed data on the real losses of the occupying Russian forces, which significantly exceed Ukraine’s losses — at a ratio of one to six. According to the general, Russia’s daily irrecoverable losses average between 1,000 and 1,100 soldiers. This depletion of manpower has led to Moscow’s failure to fully implement its plans to form 14 new divisions in 2025. Instead of full-fledged formations, the enemy managed to create only seven divisions, some of which, due to personnel shortages, consist of just a single regiment.
Syrskyi made these remarks in an interview with Channel 24 on 29 December.
He identified the battlefield fatality ratio as a key indicator of the effectiveness of Ukraine’s Defence Forces, stating that it currently stands at approximately one Ukrainian loss to six Russian losses. This figure reflects overall statistics across the Armed Forces and points to a deep crisis in Russia’s recruitment and training system.
Due to the high level of casualties, Russian military command is forced to rapidly redeploy understrength units into combat formations, further reducing their combat effectiveness. According to General Staff reports as of late December 2025, Russia’s total losses since the start of the full-scale invasion have already exceeded 1.2 million personnel.
Russia’s manpower problems are also confirmed by its own internal statistics: there is a discrepancy of more than 1.5 million people between the number of signed contracts and the actual number of troops deployed at the front. Syrskyi emphasised that it is precisely this high cost of Russian advances that enables Ukrainian forces to hold the line and disrupt the enemy’s strategic plans to expand the occupied territories.
The situation at the front remains difficult; however, the systematic destruction of enemy logistics and infantry units is forcing the Kremlin to postpone the formation of new reserves until 2026.
