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Russian forces suffered over 50,000 personnel losses in September, including upwards of 28,000 Russian soldiers killed on the battlefield, a NATO official told Bloomberg on Oct. 11.
The September figure, the highest monthly total in 2026, aligns closely with official estimates released by Ukraine's General Staff estimating 46,230 Russian personnel losses in September 2026. The General Staff did not distinguish how many of the losses were fatal.
According to the unnamed NATO official, Ukraine's Armed Forces suffered 5,000 casualties over the course of the month. The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the figure as Ukrainian officials rarely comment on the number of losses sustained on the battlefield.
According to the General Staff, Russian personnel losses have risen from 31,710 in January to 46,230 in September — an increase of nearly 46%.
Inflicting heavy personnel losses has become a stated strategic objective of Ukraine. In January, then-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine aimed to "kill 50,000 Russians per month," arguing that losses on that scale could undermine Moscow's ability to sustain the war.
The increase also comes as Russia faces growing pressure to replace troops while sustaining offensive operations along the front.
Ukrainian intelligence has also said Russia's General Staff is prepared to mobilize around 300,000 people in 2026 and another 300,000 in 2027 if needed.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in July that Russia has lost more than 1.5 million troops killed or wounded since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The figures cannot be independently verified, and Moscow does not publish comprehensive casualty data.
As of Oct. 11, Ukraine's General Staff reported that Russia suffered 1,552,840 personnel losses since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The figure is presumed to include those soldiers killed, wounded, captured, and missing.