Russia's Summer Offensive Turned Out To Be A Disaster For The Russian Military
- 10.07.2025, 14:42
The level of losses reached an all-time high.
Since the beginning of May, Russia has lost about 31,000 military personnel killed on the frontline during the summer offensive, writes The Economist.
This is a record figure for the entire time of a full-scale invasion: there were no such large-scale losses even in the first months of the war.
The publication calculates that in total, Russia has lost between 900,000 and 1.3 million people killed and wounded since 2022, including between 190,000 and 350,000 dead. These figures are based on independent research, satellite intelligence and information from Western intelligence services.
The cost of the "breakthrough"
Despite the record number of losses, Russian forces have failed to make any significant territorial gains.
According to The Economist, over the past year Russia has lost an average of one soldier to advance 0.038 square kilometers.
Even if the pace of the offensive remains high, the full capture of the four annexed regions will take at least until February 2029. Analysts estimate that it would take the Kremlin 89 years to fully seize all of Ukraine.
"Last ditch effort" amid crisis
Military analysts warn that this summer could be Putin's last opportunity to attempt a major offensive, as the Russian army has depleted its armored vehicles and faces a shortage of personnel.
According to captured Russian officers, the offensive was presented to them as a "final push" that would turn the tide of the war. But instead of triumph, the Russian generals received disastrous statistics.
Even with the record intensity of the offensive, the front hardly moved.
The Kremlin's Illusions
Despite the obvious disaster, Putin continues to assert that Ukraine is supposedly close to collapse and Russian superiority is undeniable, according to The New York Times.
With this background, claims that the fighting cannot be stopped without Kiev's surrender sound increasingly divorced from reality. The summer offensive, which has turned into the deadliest campaign in three years of war, demonstrates the full cost of the Kremlin's adventurism.
Russia is burning resources, losing tens of thousands of people and killing its own future for the illusion of "victory," which is becoming more unattainable with each passing month.