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Russia Is Losing More Soldiers Than It Can Mobilize, Forcing It to Rely on Foreigners
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British Defense Secretary John Healey stated that the Russian army is increasingly dependent on foreign military personnel in the war against Ukraine, as their losses on the front significantly exceed the possibilities of replenishing personnel, according to Bloomberg on February 16.
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Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Healey noted that Russia is forced to involve thousands of citizens of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Cuba, Nigeria, and Senegal to compensate for significant combat losses, adding that many of them are recruited by deception.
He also emphasized that about 17,000 military personnel from North Korea were currently fighting on the side of Russia.
They are “often recruited under false pretenses and press-ganged under pressure without necessarily realizing that they’re destined for the Russian meat machine on the front line of Ukraine,” Healey said.
During the conference, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov informed European colleagues that over the last two months, the losses of the Russian army significantly exceeded the rates of its replenishment. He stated that by summer, monthly Russian losses are planned to be increased to approximately 50,000 military personnel.
Western officials assess that such losses will complicate the replenishment of the Russian army without declaring a new wave of mobilization, noting that this also carries risks for Vladimir Putin, as the previous draft of 300,000 fighters in 2022 led to public discontent and a mass exit of men from the country.
Last week, Russia lost 9,000 more military personnel than it was able to mobilize during January, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that for the first month of the year, the number of dead Russians amounted to about 30,000 people.
Cumulative Russian losses from the start of the full-scale war have now exceeded 1.2 million people, though the Russian Federation does not officially disclose data on the number of dead.
As of February 16, 2026, total combat losses are estimated at 1,254,450.
Earlier, reports indicated that Russia has begun modernizing “ancient” T-72A tanks due to the depletion of more advanced T-72B stocks. According to Militarnyi, these upgrades include Relikt armor and improvised side protection, though analysts warn that while these T-72A reserves might last until 2027, stocks of other Soviet-era models like the T-80B could be exhausted by 2026.
This reliance on aging hardware is further evidenced by the appearance of modified PTS-2 amphibious transporters on the front lines, highlighting the Kremlin’s struggle to maintain mass production of new armored vehicles.
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