European and Ukrainian officials have said for months that Russian casualty rates have climbed to record levels, with Ukraine\u2019s top general telling NATO allies<\/a> in May that Russia loses at least 1,000 soldiers a day.<\/p>\n \u201cOur intelligence is consistent with some of the open-source reporting you may have seen in Ukraine,\u201d Ratcliffe said at the Defense and Innovation Summit in Pennsylvania, according to Bloomberg<\/a>. \u201cThe average life expectancy of a Russian recruit right now, arriving on the battlefield in Ukraine, is estimated to be between 20 and 30 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s because AI-powered drones have gotten to be such specialized, low-cost killing machines,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Ratcliffe\u2019s confirmation shows how decisively emerging technology can shape a war \u2014 and why the U.S. cannot afford to fall behind.<\/p>\n The Russia-to-Ukraine casualty ratio reached nearly 8-to-1 in the first half of 2026, up from roughly 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 for most of the war, as AI-powered drones expanded across the front, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n More than 2 million soldiers on both sides have been killed or wounded since Russia\u2019s February 2022 invasion, with Russia bearing 1.4 million of those casualties, the CSIS researchers found, including as many as 450,000 dead \u2014 the highest battlefield death toll suffered by any major power since World War II.<\/p>\n \u201cThe takeaway is that the mastery of these emerging technologies is every bit as important as military strength,\u201d Ratcliffe said during the summit<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s why an inferior force, four and a half years later, has held off the superior force of Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n Ratcliffe said the U.S. needs to take the lessons learned on the battlefield in Ukraine seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pace of their advance has stopped as Ukraine\u2019s mastery of emerging technologies and, in this case, drone warfare, asymmetric warfare, is such a great equalizer, and shows why we have to be leading on this in all respects for us to maintain our place in the global marketplace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n His remarks came as Washington and its European allies race to fund Ukraine\u2019s drone programs and lock in access to the technology behind them.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HMY4ZH7HSRDPTMB6JMO2QZVFFI.jpg\")
A man visits an improvised memorial for fallen fighters in central Moscow, July 6, 2026. (Alexander Nemenov\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n