Russia has sustained its one and a half millionth military casualty since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with half a million of those confirmed dead, the Chief of the Defence Staff has said.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said the figure, drawn from Ukrainian General Staff data published on Wednesday, marks a grim milestone highlighting the vast cost and enormous impact of what he called President Putin’s frankly flawed decision to invade.
The proportion killed was confirmed by defence intelligence. “Amongst that one and a half million, defence intelligence have confirmed that 500,000, that is half a million, are dead,” he said.
What that number represents was something he chose to spell out, saying “That means half a million photographs hanging on the walls in devastated, darkened homes around Russia. That means half a million families who will never see their father, their son, their brother, or husband again.”
Of the one and a half million, 1.4 million have been sustained since January 2023 in order to gain just two per cent of Ukraine’s territory.
“I think these numbers illustrate clearly the senseless and futile waste of human life for such little progress, and against such an illegitimate aim of President Putin,” he said.
The Chief of the Defence Staff was careful to separate the Russian state from the Russian population, echoing the Defence Secretary’s statement to the Commons the previous day that Britain has no quarrel with the Russian people. He could not echo those comments more loudly, he said. The purpose was to highlight the cost to Russia and its people of Putin’s decisions, “but we by no means celebrate those costs”.
He named the people bearing them, saying Britain is no more keen to see the Russian population continue to carry the cost of the war than “the beleaguered Belgorod small business owner, or the petrified recruit press gangs in St Petersburg, or the terrified Muscovite family seeing their parent, partner, or child rushed to the front line”.
Putin could end the illegal war tomorrow and stop the killing, he said, and for as long as he continues to fight, Britain will stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, as the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary have both said.
And yet it’s the Ukrainians who have press gangs on the streets of their cities and who are moving to conscript women to flll their trenches.
There is a propaganda war going on with both sides. AI can produce very realistic “desinformatzia” There are NO ukrainian press gangs operating. Spreading this sort of crap serves nobody except the war criminal Putin
And the claim that these videos can simply be dismissed as AI doesn’t stand up either. AI generated video has improved enormously, but it still commonly leaves detectable inconsistencies, particularly when you’re looking at footage from multiple angles, different uploads, eyewitness accounts and videos recorded over time. You can’t just label any video you don’t like “AI” without actually establishing that it is AI-generated.
There are genuine, documented cases of Ukrainian conscription officers forcibly detaining men. That doesn’t mean every video circulating online is authentic, but pretending the entire phenomenon is fabricated is just as dishonest as believing every video without question.
And if coercive mobilisation were entirely fictional, why have so many Ukrainian men gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid conscription, including paying for illegal crossings and attempting to obtain fraudulent exemptions?
You can condemn Putin’s invasion while still acknowledging that Ukraine has had abuses and serious problems with its mobilisation system. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.
‘Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive’, putting conscription methods of a country that as has brutally invaded at WW2 standards, as an issue to discuss versus the actual invasion itself, is ludicrous. What’s next, the Anglo Saxon recruitment methods is not mutually exclusive to the Norman invasion? So what if recruitment is harsh in order to resist the take over of the country by men in tanks.
Absolutely Robert, what a pointless waste. And off course the suffering of all those the Ukrainian civilians ( and troops)
Exactly! 💯
Yeah … sure
Based on what source?
Ukraine has conscription just as western countries have had in the past. Reason? Because their country is at war… However, it seems to be checks on registration – and people who are dodging the draft are the ones taken. If you have a viable and workable alternative method I’m sure the Ukrainian authorities would be interested in it. As for conscripting women – not true and the Ukrainian authorities say there are no plans to conscript women.
I think the chuds are upset about going after draft dodgers because their hero is one.
What is your point? The Ukrainians are desperate and somehow are holding the Russians off. Quite amazing really
You do realise that absolutely everyone here sees you as just another, pathetic Putin troll spewing bullshit.
👍
There are three I’ve noted of late.
Half a million men dead for what. Putins ego. And the Kremlin misinformation machine and state controlled news channels and press limits what the Russian public sees as to what’s really going on. The parents of those dead soldiers know what’s going on. Poor sods.
The issue is if your a russian elite and have zero interest in normal people, 500k dead is irrelevant all that your focused on is how much money will you make when Russia is eventually successful. We have seen similar thing from trump or Netanyahu, both technically elected. Not sure how we ended up with this world but we have it
Compared to 26,000 in their Afghanistan campaign!
I highly suspect that 26k was a lie just like the official Russia figures of deaths in Ukraine, which are a fraction of reality.
Can you really see the USSR with its multiple million in its army giving up after 26k deaths.
why are there never any reports about Ukraine military failure and defeats it’s just as valid information as Russian failure and defeats
Because Ukraine is not overrun and until it is, they are not failing. Simples
Because Ukraine is not the aggressor.. they have no choice, their military defeats are forced on them via a war of necessity, where as Russia chooses to kill its young men in a war of choice….
Russia can never win as its come apparent its forces were all a long a paper tiger , Russias military is so corrupt , its officers are stealing
the money / card details / equipment of new recruits , if the new recruits are K.I.D they simply don’t record their deaths so they can still access their
wages , not to mention they are just and always were badly trained.
K.I.A *
Quite curious re eventual historical account re UKR conflict. Probable tally of 1.5+Mn RU casualties, and significant UKR losses, to perpetuate a higher tech version of WWI trench warfare for a time period already exceeding the duration of WWI. Any thoughts/wagers re interim ceasefire terms and conditions. Personally, envision the status quo maintained after both populations have been bled white. UKR granted EU near-term membership, and eventual NATO accession. Border occupied and reinforced by EBATO, while awaiting next CRINK instance of adventureism. And that will assuredly occur. Dangerous to merely wound a wild animal, especially a bear w/ large teeth, powerful jaws and eviscerating claws intact. Only a matter of time before Round 2 commences, perhaps after a sufficient period for Europe to rearm. 🤔🤞
E-NATO …🙄 (When will edit function be re-implemented?)
A border Reinforced by NATO. Canada has a brigade in Latvia. The US in Poland.
Oh dear, how sad, never mind!
A few uncommon names popping up in the comment section, pro Russia, usual pattern.
As you will know, they get paid, all over Europe, and sometimes have connections to local political parties:
‘German journalist Angelique Geray ran a fake Telegram channel for several months under the name “Kati,” purportedly a supporter of dictator Vladimir Putin. Through this channel, she was contacted by people who began offering her assignments in the interests of Russian intelligence, according to DW.
At first, Geray posted a video featuring the Russian flag, after which she received offers to photograph locations in Germany and to monitor people from the CDU, arms companies, and nongovernmental organizations. She was also required to collect personal data on employees.
According to the journalist, the recruitment of one-time operatives often begins with simple tasks for small amounts of money.
German politician Jovica Jović from the pro-Russian Sara Wagenknecht Union also reached out to “Katya’s” channel. He offered advice on developing the channel and, in particular, suggested recording a video in which “Katya” dances on a NATO flag.
When asked about possible ties to Russian intelligence agencies, Jović initially stated that, in theory, he knew nothing, but in practice he did know, and later denied having any contact with Russian intelligence.
After Geray revealed that the “Katya” persona was fictional, unknown individuals threatened the journalist with murder.’
Meduza 12 Sept 2026