Russian forces suffered 42,860 casualties in July 2026, the highest monthly total recorded since the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published recently.
The data was collected and analyzed by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its assessment from August 1, which concludes that Moscow is paying an unprecedented human cost without gaining any operationally significant advancements in return.
Russian casualties have steadily escalated throughout 2026: in February, Moscow's forces reported 26,090 casualties, a number that has continued to rise, reaching a record high in July.
The Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski announced on July 31 that Russia has amassed nearly 700,000 combat deaths and approximately 1.6 million total casualties since the invasion began over four years ago.
The human cost stands in stark contrast to territorial gains. The ISW calculated that Russian troops conquered only 37.85 square kilometers in July —an area smaller than the island of Manhattan— at an average of 1.22 km² per day.
Including infiltration operations, the total amounts to 121.56 km², but it remains a fraction of the 455.74 km² that Russia occupied in July 2025.
The ISW estimated that Russian forces suffered an average of 1,132 casualties per square kilometer of territory effectively conquered in July, a figure that the institute itself describes as "chilling."
The spring-summer offensive of 2026, which began in mid-March, has lasted two and a half months without achieving any operationally significant objectives. The infiltration efforts in Kostyantynivka, in the Donetsk region, have not resulted in the capture of that city.
The Kremlin has responded to this stalemate with a disinformation campaign. According to the ISW, "the Kremlin is desperately trying to mask its slow pace of advance through exaggerated claims, but even the pace that Moscow is asserting barely amounts to that of a pedestrian."
In parallel to the ground failure, Russia launched a record number of missiles in July: at least 376, the highest monthly total since the massive attacks began, surpassing the 288 launched in February 2026.
In the early hours of July 31 to August 1, an attack involving 35 missiles and 185 drones, primarily targeting the Kyiv region, resulted in nine deaths and 33 injuries in the capital, including four children.
The attack destroyed five ambulances, damaged 18 residential buildings, a school, the Lithuanian embassy, and the main mosque of the Umma Religious Administration of Ukraine, which was affected for the third time.
Zelensky attributed the inability to intercept more ballistic missiles to the shortage of Patriot interceptors, and requested President Donald Trump to expand Ukraine's access to the Starlink network to target Russian missile launchers on Russian territory.
In that context, on July 31, a Russian Kh-101 missile struck Polish territory, in the town of Tarnawa-Kolonia, in what Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as a "very serious incident" and a violation of NATO airspace.
The ISW warned that "there are no signs that Russian forces can dramatically accelerate their advances or restore maneuver warfare on the battlefield at this time."
Related videos:
Filed under: