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Today, newly released US statistics show a disastrous kill rate that is massively in favor of Ukrainian forces. We will delve into the reliability of these statistics, give appropriate context, and expand on the differences between how Russians and Ukrainians manage their numerous combat casualties.
In a recent post on X, US President Trump stated that since the beginning of January 2025, Ukraine has suffered 8,000 soldiers killed in action compared to Russia’s 112,500 soldiers killed in action, based on intelligence reports by the extensive American foreign intelligence networks and agencies. This would translate to a kill-to-loss ratio of 14 to one in favor of Ukraine; however, this ratio is noticeably higher than even the most conservative Ukrainian and Western estimates.
It is likely that the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in action here is misinterpreted with other similar data, as based on extrapolated data and reports by President Zelensky, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and other Nato foreign intelligence services, an estimation of around 12,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in action is more reliable. This brings the kill-to-loss ratio to over one Ukrainian soldier for every nine Russian soldiers killed in action.
Notably, this figure does not include wounded, missing, or captured, which adds up to an estimated 48,000 Ukrainian and 239,000 Russian casualties, closing the gap in the ratio slightly more to a five-to-one, still massively in favor of Ukrainians. This means that over three-quarters of Ukrainian casualties survive their injuries, while half of the Russian casualties do not.
This is because of several important factors; Firstly, is the stark difference between Ukrainian and Russian medical evacuation methods and care. Generally, Ukrainian units understand that they need every soldier and have to maintain high morale, and act accordingly by exerting significant resources to proper casualty evacuation.
The large amount of footage confirms this, with one video showing a Ukrainian tank evacuating a wounded soldier and an armored vehicle despite coming under heavy artillery fire, as Russians were intent on destroying the position and the soldiers within entirely.
Another video shows a Ukrainian ground drone being notified of a wounded soldier at a position, picking him up and bringing him to safety.
Similarly, there is a massive amount of footage available of Russian soldiers simply walking up to a wounded comrade and executing him on the spot, as well as suicide being a frequent way out for Russian soldiers, knowing that evacuation will never come; reserved for only Russian special forces and tanks, which are too valuable to lose.
There is also a stark difference in medical care; some Ukrainian soldiers are even transferred to Nato medical facilities in Germany to receive the highest possible chance to survive. Many Ukrainian soldiers are also seen with prosthetics and even bionic arms or legs, to give them a much higher quality of life after they are wounded in combat.
On the other hand, Russian soldiers themselves report harrowingly inadequate levels of care, with soldiers who suffer from simple injuries like broken bones dying in a field hospital of pneumonia. Others account horrifying stories of wounded soldiers being left out in the hallways of medical facilities, and wounds being infested by magots due to poor or a complete lack of treatment.
Additionally, Ukraine also holds the edge in military training. Basic training has been extended to one and a half months, and includes drone and counter-drone warfare and tactics; as Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksander Syrski stated, this has already caused a sharp drop in friendly casualties.
Notably, many units also have their additional training programs; soldiers joining the 57th brigade that has been fighting in Vovchansk for over a year go through an intense urban warfare simulation before being deployed, while the 155th brigade fighting at Pokrovsk subjects its soldiers to an intense virtual-reality with real life GoPro combat footage, as an immersion into the high-stakes environment of Russia’s main summer push.
Again, Russians seem to do the contrary, with many cases of patriotic Russian online bloggers signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, before turning up on Ukrainian FPV drone footage just a week later.
Overall, the casualty ratio between Russia and Ukraine is stark, and the reasons for it reflect each approach to warfare and the value of the soldiers. While there are exceptions to every case, the overwhelming evidence and reports paint a clear picture between the high regard of the Ukrainians, and the expendability of the Russians; with maintaining such a casualty rate being critical for Ukraine to continue the fight.
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