Cannon fodder on credit: Why the Russian dictator is announcing an increase in the army, which is losing thousands of soldiers in Ukraine every day
The other day, the Russian dictator said that more than 700,000 Russian soldiers are currently fighting in Ukraine. Also, on June 12, the dictator issued a decree to increase the size of the occupying country’s army to 2.4 million people, 1.5 million of whom are military personnel. A similar decree was issued in March of this year, but in the new document, the number of soldiers increased by 7,400 people. From these data, it follows that today almost half of the Russian military is fighting on the front against Ukraine.
It is worth noting that the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced 700 thousand enemy personnel back in September 2025. In particular, the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Andrii Yusov, in an interview with Noviny.LIVE, stated that there are about 700 thousand Russian military personnel on the territory of Ukraine. According to Yusov, this figure takes into account not only regular troops, but also support forces, special services and the Russian Guard. The ground component consists of more than 620,000 soldiers. Of these, more than 200,000 people are directly assault units on the front line.
The majority of the group is concentrated in the Donetsk region, which indicates the enemy’s main priority.
Therefore, the Russian dictator’s announcement of this figure is nothing more than a statement. And an admission of the fact that the increase in the number of personnel of the occupation troops has not led to a change in the situation on the front line in six months.
I note that in June 2024, sources in the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that the occupiers had concentrated about 550,000 occupiers directly in Ukraine and in the border areas. This figure consisted of 520,000 regular servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and 32,000 representatives of the Rosgvardia, FSB and other law enforcement agencies who performed police functions in the occupied territories.
At the same time, the latest comprehensive data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of June 2026 indicate that the total number of the offensive group of occupation forces is 721,300 servicemen.
According to the Kremlin master, the increase in numbers was supposed to radically change the situation on the front lines and allow the occupying country to dictate its terms on the international stage. But these plans of the Russian dictator failed.
Moreover, the increase in the size of the Russian armed forces has also led to reverse processes.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the military leadership of Ukraine, the average monthly losses of the Russian occupiers in 2026 are from 35,000 to 40,000 people (killed and seriously wounded). The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, and foreign partners from NATO confirm that on average the occupation army loses at least 1,000-1,300 servicemen every day .
President Volodymyr Zelensky officially reported that in just one month of active fighting (April, for example), the enemy’s losses exceeded 35,000 people killed and seriously wounded. As of the end of May, in the first 5 months of the year, the total losses of the occupiers exceeded 141,500 people, of which more than 83,000 were irretrievable (dead). This gives a stable dynamics of about 28,300 deaths per month, not including the wounded. In general, as of the end of June 2026, the total losses of the Russian Federation’s personnel since the start of the full-scale invasion have already crossed the line of 1,400,000 military personnel (including the wounded, killed and captured).
It is worth noting that the enemy’s ability to replenish its personnel in 2026 faced a serious systemic crisis. CNN analysts and Ukrainian military intelligence state that the recruitment rate in the Russian Federation has fallen by 20% compared to last year, and for the fifth month in a row, the volume of new recruits has not covered the monthly losses at the front.
Due to the failure to fulfill plans to replenish the personnel of the occupation army, Russian security forces have taken radical steps. There are reports of mass raids and roundups of men (for example, in the Penza region), during which detained drivers and passengers were forced to sign contracts.
Therefore, with his statement about the size of the Russian troops, the Kremlin’s master signed off on the complete incapacity of the occupation army in Ukraine. Despite the increase in numbers, they have no real results on the front.
Let me remind you that, according to the estimates of the Ukrainian military-political leadership, the front line at the end of May 2026 is in the same place as at the end of May 2025. And I note that at the same time, the number of occupation troops increased by more than 150 thousand personnel.
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