100,000 Russians Killed In Ukraine 2025 So Far - "A Significant Loss Intensification"

There are two significant aspects to this report. The first is the staggering number of Russians killed - not killed AND wounded, but just killed - in Ukraine since the start of the year. This death toll reflects the increasingly effective lethality of Ukraine's drones, mines and artillery, as well as the devastating annihilation of most of Russia's once proud armored strength. And all while the Kremlin is attempting to portray its summer offensives in Ukraine as succeeding. Thus, this announcement undercuts the Kremlin posture and reinforces objective reporting which has revealed the futility of Russian attacks.

But the second and perhaps even more impactful nature of this report is that it was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a public foreign ministers' conference in Malaysia, a country within what China considers its sphere of influence. The implication is that the Trump administration now intends, at least for the moment, to hit back at Putin's lack of respect for the White House's wishes regarding a ceasefire and serious peace negotiations. The announcement by Rubio is likely to be a precursor to further US action against Russia - hinted to be as soon as next week - unless Putin calls Trump and tries to make nice this weekend. Either way, the perception will be that Putin is being forced to respond to Trump's threats, which will be seen as a sign of Kremlin weakness. JL 

David Axe reports in Trench Art and Roman Kohanets reports in Untied24:

100,000 Russian troops have died in combat in Ukraine since the New Year. “On the Russian side, they’ve lost 100,000 soldiers—dead, not injured—dead,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The estimate derives from “multiple sources of intelligence, open-source reporting and partner-nation assessments,” reflecting a significant intensification of Russian losses over the past six months. The tally of Russian dead comes as Russian commanders shift to infantry-first assaults across the mine-infested, drone-swarmed front line after losing more than 20,000 armored vehicles and other heavy equipment to Ukraine’s artillery, mines and drones

100,000 Russian troops have died in combat in Ukraine since the New Year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed Thursday.

“On the Russian side, they’ve lost 100,000 soldiers—dead, not injured—dead,” Rubio said while defending U.S. Pres. Donald Trump’s repeated and failed attempts to get Russia to agree to a ceasefire. 

 

At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio disclosed that “since the beginning of 2025, roughly 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine—dead, not wounded,” as was reported on July 10.

Rubio said the estimate derives from “multiple sources of intelligence, open-source reporting and partner-nation assessments,” reflecting a significant intensification of Russian losses over the past six months. He added that the United States and its allies continue to track battlefield attrition closely, even as Moscow publicly denies such figures.

“On the Ukrainian side, the numbers are less but still very significant,” Rubio added. Russia suffered its millionth casualty in Ukraine back in June. Ukraine’s own losses are probably around half that.

The tally of Russian dead comes as Russian commanders shift to infantry-first assaults across the artillery-pocked, mine-infested, drone-swarmed front line of Russia’s 41-month wider war on Ukraine.

After losing more than 20,000 armored vehicles and other heavy equipment to Ukraine’s artillery, mines and drones, the Russians pivoted to infantry assaults in order to preserve the few thousand combat vehicles they have left.

But infantry assaults are costly—not in armor, but in bodies. The numbers are proof.