Russia has suffered “more losses than any major power in any war since World War II,” according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which says Moscow has paid a steep price for only limited territorial gains as its war in Ukraine drags into its fourth year.<\/p>\n
The CSIS report<\/a>, published Jan. 27, estimates that Russian forces have sustained nearly 1.2 million casualties \u2014 including troops killed, wounded or missing \u2014 since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022. As many as 325,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, the report found.<\/p>\n While Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/a> has repeatedly claimed that his forces have seized the battlefield initiative, CSIS concludes that Russia’s advances have been slow and difficult, even after years of fighting.<\/p>\n Near Pokrovsk<\/a>, the hottest area of the front line throughout 2025, Russian forces advanced at an average rate of only 70 meters per day \u2014 a pace slower than even some of the bloodiest battles of the past century.<\/p>\n Overall, Russian forces have gained less than 1.5% of Ukrainian territory since the start of 2024, highlighting what the report describes as “the attritional nature of the war,” which has been marked by massive loss of personnel<\/a> and equipment but limited battlefield gains.<\/p>\n The study also describes Russia as a “second- or third-rate economic<\/a> power,” citing challenges such as declining manufacturing, a labor shortage, and dwindling capital. <\/p>\n Likewise, in emerging technologies, Russia<\/a> continues to lag, as the country has zero companies among the world’s top 100 technology firms and remains behind leading nations in key sectors such as artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n CSIS argues that Russia’s economic stagnation and absence in growing industries reflect its broader decline as a major power, increasingly unable to compete with global economic leaders such as China<\/a> and the United States.<\/p>\n