On the verge of exhaustion: what losses Russia has suffered in various spheres during the three years of full-scale war
24 February 14:46
on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. During this time, the war changed the course of history and became a tragic stage for Ukrainians, causing huge human losses, destruction and the loss of a huge amount of equipment. However, Russia is now on the verge of exhaustion. The loss of personnel is reaching a million, and Russian economists predict that by 2026 Putin may run out of money for the war. Three years of full-scale war in figures and facts – further in the
Russia’s missile strikes: number, types and strategic goal
Missiles have become one of the main tools of warfare for the Russian armed forces. The number of missiles fired by Russia is impressive.
According to the Ukrainian military, as of mid-February 2025, Russia has launched more than 9,600 missile strikes against Ukraine. These were cruise and ballistic missiles launched from various platforms – from the air, from the sea, and from land.
The main purpose of these strikes was to destabilize Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, destroy military facilities, and limit the ability to mobilize forces to counter the aggressor. However, according to military analysts, a large number of such attacks also had a psychological effect, creating an atmosphere of fear among the civilian population.
These strikes repeatedly led to power outages, destruction of water supply and heating networks, and significant civilian casualties. Out of the total number of missile attacks, more than 2,400 missiles were destroyed by the Ukrainian air defense system, which demonstrates the effectiveness of Ukrainian forces in countering Russian attacks. However, a huge number of missile attacks, unfortunately, reached their targets, causing serious damage.
Russia has also been actively using Iranian Shahed drones to strike Ukraine – although they are not missiles, but unmanned aerial vehicles, they also play an important role in the missile mix of attacks. Russia has used them for strategic strikes against energy facilities. And on the eve of the anniversary of the full-scale war, the aggressor country broke a record by launching 267 UAVs into Ukraine in just one day.
Not the world’s third army: Russia’s losses on the battlefield
Military analysts estimate that over the three years of the war, Russia has lost a significant portion of its equipment. When assessing the losses by type of equipment, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery systems, and aircraft are at the forefront.
- Tanks: According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have destroyed more than 10,000 Russian tanks since the beginning of the war. This number far exceeds the losses of Soviet troops during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II.
- Armored vehicles: Losses of armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles are approaching 6 thousand units.
- Aviation: Russia has lost more than 300 combat aircraft.
In addition, Russia often used old models of equipment from Soviet stocks on the battlefield, which also led to heavy losses, as these vehicles did not meet the requirements of modern warfare.
From the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, to February 24, 2025, the total combat losses of Russian troops amounted to about 868,230 people.
Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in reserve, military expert Roman Svitan, in an exclusive commentary for
“This is a serious loss for the army. They can restore personnel, but under duress, through the mechanism of mobilization,” Svitan explains.
He emphasizes that over the three years of war, the mechanism of replenishing the army has lost its effectiveness, as the motivation of the military has significantly decreased.
Moreover, over the three years, Russia has been actively using old Soviet stocks of equipment, which were restored and put on wheels.
“They have practically raised all the old Soviet warehouses of equipment and ammunition,” Svitan explains.
However, in his opinion, Russia is no longer capable of large-scale operations without serious stockpiles of equipment and ammunition. Svitan adds that Russia is currently producing equipment in limited quantities and trying to compensate for losses, but this process is not endless.
“As much equipment as they produce, we destroy it. This allows us to prevent a large-scale increase in Russia’s military potential,” noted Roman Svitan.
At the same time, Russia is facing serious difficulties in providing ammunition. They can produce only half of the required amount, and the rest is received from their partners – China and North Korea.
Roman Svitan also drew attention to the change in motivation in the ranks of the Russian army. While at the beginning of the war, Russian soldiers were not ready for a long war and did not even know that they would have to fight Ukraine, by the fall of 2022, their motivation began to change. The military was mobilized forcibly, and then financial mobilization was applied.
“The motivation became purely financial, because of social packages, so they stayed until the summer of 2023,” says Svitan.
However, the large-scale offensives that Russia tried to carry out were met with serious resistance, and the losses were enormous – more than a thousand people died per day.
Svitan also predicted further developments. In his opinion, Putin is trying to avoid announcing a general mobilization, as this would cause a negative reaction in Russia.
“He will do everything possible to avoid announcing general mobilization. Perhaps he will try to achieve an operational pause to accumulate forces,” says Roman Svitan.
If Putin is able to achieve a pause in the fighting, it will allow Russia to quickly restore its resources. Svitan believes that in this case, in 3-4 months, Russia can accumulate enough forces for new offensive operations, and in a few years, it can achieve great results.
“They can reach the Dnipro River or reach the borders of Europe,” warns Roman Svitan.
According to Roman Svitan, Russia’s war against Ukraine is on the verge of exhausting the aggressor’s resources. Despite its large human resource, Russia is limited in its ability to produce equipment, ammunition and the ability to maintain a high level of motivation among soldiers. All these factors indicate that Russia cannot expand the scale of the war without serious consequences for its internal situation.
“Russia is working at the limit of its capabilities. They cannot increase their resources unless they get an operational pause,” Svitan concludes.
Thus, three years since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine have demonstrated that the aggressor does not stop at any cost. Every year the Russian army suffers more and more destruction, both in terms of equipment and human resources. However, despite the huge losses, Russia continues to pursue its strategy, which includes massive missile strikes, but its internal problems – from a lack of motivated soldiers to limited capabilities in the production of equipment – point to the aggressor’s exhaustion. Ukraine, in turn, continues to strengthen its defense positions, which reduces the effectiveness of attacks and brings victory closer.
How much money is the war in Ukraine costing Russia and does it have any more resources?
One day of the war costs Russia at least $300 million – the treasury of the aggressor country is being depleted. In particular, because of Western sanctions. The problems of the Russian economy are becoming more and more noticeable. According to Bloomberg, to support the economy and finance the war against Ukraine, Russia spent almost 25% of the reserves of the National Welfare Fund last year.
For 2024, the fund remains at about 12 trillion rubles ($117 billion), but liquid funds and investments have decreased by 24% to 3.8 trillion rubles. Since the February invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the fund has decreased by 57%.
In addition, the Ministry of Finance was forced to spend 1.3 trillion rubles from the fund to cover the budget deficit, despite exceeding forecasts for oil and gas exports. According to the British Express, Putin is considering freezing bank accounts and introducing ration cards, as potato prices have risen by 95% and butter prices by 36.5%.
Economist Ihor Lipsits emphasized that Russia already has the funds to finance military operations in 2024, but the prospects for 2025 and 2026 look critical.
“2025 and 2026 are already a very problematic time horizon. So far, we do not see any enlightenment in the financial sector. We see the National Welfare Fund being eaten up. We see problems with the decline in Russian exports. And Putin has chosen a good mine for a bad game in this regard,” Ihor Lipsitz
Thus, the expert emphasizes that the financial forecast remains unchanged, and if the situation does not improve, Russia’s reserves for warfare may be completely exhausted by 2026.
Putin is a pariah of world diplomacy: from invasion to complete isolation
In three years, the global community has joined forces to condemn the aggression and put an end to further support for Russian policies.
Western powers, supported by many countries in Asia and Latin America, have imposed large-scale economic sanctions aimed at weakening the Russian economy and isolating the Kremlin. These measures were the first signal that the aggression would not go unpunished.
Over the following years, the sanctions were expanded to affect key sectors of the Russian economy, leading to a large-scale economic slowdown. Diplomatic ties were gradually severed: Russia was expelled from many international forums and organizations, and Kremlin officials became rare at global summits.
- Council of Europe. Russia was officially expelled from the Council of Europe in March 2022 after the start of its aggression against Ukraine. This symbolically marked a strong condemnation of Russia by Western countries, as the Council of Europe is an important platform for promoting human rights and democracy in Europe.
- FIFA and UEFA (International Football Federation and the Union of European Football Associations). In connection with Russia’s war against Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA have expelled Russia from all international competitions and tournaments, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and banned it from participating in qualifiers.
- The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees. Russian athletes were deprived of the opportunity to compete under their national flag in international Olympic competitions by the International Olympic Committee, which led to their exclusion from international sporting events.
- SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)** – Russia was cut off from the SWIFT system, making it difficult for its banks to send postal and financial transactions to international partners, providing a powerful financial blow to the Russian economy.
- TheGroup of Seven (G7) – Support within the G7 actually stopped before 2022, but after the outbreak of the war, Russia was officially expelled from the group, which reduced the Kremlin’s ability to negotiate with the world’s largest economies.
- Major global forums and summits. Russia has been excluded from participating in numerous important international forums, such as the International Economic Forum and the Munich Security Conference.
Also, on March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued arrest warrants for both figures for the illegal forced transfer of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories to Russia.
This is a historic case – for the first time in world practice, an arrest warrant has been issued against the leader of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, marking a new stage in the struggle for international accountability for crimes against humanity.
Today, looking back at the three years since the February invasion, I would like to say unequivocally that Putin has become a pariah of world diplomacy. However, the new head of the White House, Donald Trump, interrupted Putin’s diplomatic isolation with a phone call and a meeting between the American and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia. After that, he made a number of resonant statements against the President of Ukraine, in particular, calling him a “dictator.” And he proposed to put almost all the responsibility for the war in Ukraine on the shoulders of European allies.
It is too early to talk about the final results. The negotiations, once they begin, will be long and painful – wars are easy to start but extremely difficult to end. For Ukraine, this undoubtedly means a new challenge: to adapt to the changes in the West’s foreign policy strategy, which now, on the one hand, opens up opportunities for negotiations, and on the other hand, exacerbates the issue of security and support in the fight against the Kremlin’s aggression.
