Putin’s army suffers ‘bloodiest year yet’ as military prepares for prolonged war – Politics – News

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Beluosov and President Vladimir Putin presented their summary of the situation in 2025 at a meeting of the ministry’s board of directors and an annual question-and-answer session, respectively. The main takeaways from these two appearances indicate that Putin has no plans for peace and that the Russian military is preparing for a protracted war, according to the publication.

Neither mentioned a figure for the Russian army’s losses; however, Mediazona, an independent Russian publication, has compiled and maintained a list of dead Russian servicemen.

“As an example, here is how the workload of processing obituaries was distributed over the last two weeks:

• Deaths in 2025 increased by 1,202; the total counted for the year is 19,590;
• Deaths in 2024 increased by 899; the total counted for the year is 55,354;
• Deaths in 2023 increased by 149; the total counted for the year is 39,184;
• Deaths in 2022 increased by 33; the total recorded for the year is 18,862;,” the report said.

The publication states that the year of death remains unknown for another 22,552 soldiers and claims that every year it repeats the same conclusion: this year was even bloodier than the last, emphasizing that although their figures are only estimates, they have always proven to be accurate.

Mediazona wrote that “the casualty count for 2025 will clearly extend over many years,” giving it “reason to say that this year was the bloodiest ever for the Russian army.”

Other sources also report high numbers of casualties and deaths. According to the British Ministry of Defense, more than a million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.

The US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates Russian military deaths at 250,000 and total casualties, including injuries, at more than 950,000. Between 60,000 and 100,000 Ukrainian troops were killed, and the total number of casualties is around 400,000, according to CSIS.

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The deaths of 12 Russian generals have been officially confirmed, according to Mediazona. These include three lieutenant generals, seven major generals and two retirees from active duty. In 128,300 cases, the publication verified that the date of death is known.

The age of the deceased is mentioned in 138,400 reports.

Peace talks continue

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States had proposed a potential new format for Ukraine-Russia peace talks, with American participation and the possibility of participation by European envoys.

Zelensky said kyiv would decide on the format once it is clear whether bilateral talks with US negotiators, which resumed on Friday, are positive. “The United States said that it would have a separate meeting with the representatives of Russia. And they proposed the following format, from what I understood: Ukraine, America, Russia and, since there are representatives of Europe there, probably also Europe,” Zelensky said while speaking to journalists in kyiv.