The losses of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine in May 2026 exceeded 30,000 killed and seriously wounded. Strikingly, 63% of Russian casualties are deaths, while only 37% are wounded. The current ratio of Ukrainian to Russian losses stands at 1 to 5 or 6 in favor of Ukraine.
This was stated in an open letter from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Vladimir Putin, according to Dengi.ua.
How Many Russians Putin Lost on the Front Line in Ukraine in May
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made public Ukrainian intelligence data regarding the losses of the Russian army on the front line in Ukraine.
"Yesterday I received a report on the losses of your army on the front in Ukraine in May. Once again, this totals more than 30,000 Russians killed and seriously wounded," Zelenskyy said in his letter to Putin.
According to him, Ukraine records roughly this figure every month - and Kyiv has video confirmation for each Russian casualty. The president emphasized that these data are not unsubstantiated but are backed up by real evidence from the battlefield.
The Breakdown of Russian Casualties: How Many Killed vs. Wounded
Zelenskyy clarified the breakdown of Russian losses on the front, noting that these statistics are strikingly different from what is typical for modern warfare. The structure of the Russian Federation's losses is as follows:
- About 63% - dead;
- About 37% - wounded.
"In the twenty-first century, armies cannot afford such a balance. In the future, the share of killed will only increase," Zelenskyy emphasized.
In modern conflicts, the share of wounded usually far outnumbers the share of dead. Therefore, this specific distribution indicates the Russian army's critical issues with medical evacuation and battlefield medicine.
How Ukrainian and Russian Casualties Compare
Despite Ukraine's striking advantage in the casualty ratio, the president emphasized that every single Ukrainian casualty is a painful loss.
"It is not that we in Ukraine are worried about the Russians - not after everything your war has brought to Ukraine. But I care about Ukrainians," Zelenskyy stated.
According to him, even when the ratio of losses is 1 to 5 or 1 to 6 in favor of Ukraine, every Ukrainian loss resonates deeply.
"We lose our people, and every loss hurts us. Even when the level of Ukrainian losses is one to five or one to six compared to Russian losses, it still matters a lot," the president emphasized.
In other words, Ukraine's mathematical advantage on the battlefield does not mean the war is easy. Ukraine continues to strive for peace precisely because it values the lives of its own people, rather than out of any weakness in its position.
