A prominent Russian military blogger has claimed that up to nine out of ten Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine die before even reaching the front line — a stark illustration of how drones are reshaping the battlefield. The claim comes as Ukraine estimates Russia has suffered around 920,000 killed or seriously wounded since the invasion began. In the past 24 hours alone, Kyiv says Russian forces lost more than 1,200 personnel. Drone war turns the battlefield into a kill zone According to Russian war blogger War Correspondent Kotenok, most casualties occur while troops are still advancing toward the line of contact. “Eighty to ninety percent of personnel losses happen before reaching the front,” he wrote on Telegram. “Eight or nine out of ten soldiers are killed on the way, without ever engaging the enemy or even seeing them.” He attributes the losses largely to Ukrainian first-person-view attack drones, which hunt soldiers and vehicles from the air. Ukraine’s drone units punch far above their weight Ukraine’s unmanned forces say they are responsible for a huge share of Russian casualties despite being a small part of the military. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, told The Economist his units account for more than a third of Russian losses while representing just 2% of Ukraine’s armed forces. The result is a battlefield where Russian infantry can be targeted long before they reach Ukrainian positions. Front line barely moves despite staggering losses The brutal attrition has produced almost no strategic breakthrough. Analysts say the front has largely frozen into grinding, small-scale clashes. The Institute for the Study of War estimates Russia captured just 4,831 square kilometres in 2025 — roughly 0.8% of Ukraine’s territory. Kotenok described the front as a strip of “localized tactical movements,” with daily advances sometimes measured in mere hundreds of metres. Russia pushes new offensive despite warnings Despite the heavy losses, analysts say Moscow has launched a new spring-summer offensive aimed at Ukraine’s heavily fortified “Fortress Belt” in Donetsk. The Institute for the Study of War predicts any gains will likely be limited and achieved at enormous cost. Russian officials are already preparing the public for slow progress. One State Duma lawmaker said advances toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk will be deliberate — acknowledging that, in this war, speed comes with a deadly price. Up to 9 out of 10 Russian soldiers killed before even reaching line of contact, Russian blogger claims
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