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Russia's War Against Ukraine Enters Day 1,568—Matching the Length of World War I
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Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine entered its 1,568th day on June 10, 2026, surpassing the duration of one of the deadliest conflicts in modern history—the World War I.
According to NV, citing historical records, World War I lasted 1,568 days, beginning on July 28, 1914, and ending on November 11, 1918. The war spanned four years, three months, and 14 days, involving dozens of countries and reshaping the global political order.
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As of June 10, Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has continued for an equal number of days, meaning the current phase of the conflict has now exceeded the duration of World War I.
World War I is estimated to have claimed between 15 million and 22 million lives, including both military personnel and civilians. In addition, approximately 21 million soldiers were wounded during the conflict, making it one of the deadliest wars in human history, according to NV.
Mounting Russian losses
As of June 10, Russia has lost approximately 1,377,510 personnel since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, according to the latest estimates by Ukraine’s General Staff.
Western intelligence assessments also point to heavy Russian losses. According to the UK's Government Communications Headquarters Director Anne Keast-Butler, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “going backwards on the battlefield” in Ukraine.
As reported by The Guardian the UK's top intelligence official said that “almost half a million Russian soldiers” have been killed since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
The UK estimates broadly align with recent figures released by Ukrainian officials, which point to mounting Russian losses on the battlefield. Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, previously stated that Russian forces had suffered approximately 141,500 casualties since the beginning of 2026, including more than 83,000 personnel reported killed.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has also highlighted the increasing cost of Russia's offensive operations, saying that the country's average monthly troop losses now exceed 35,000. According to him, the number of Russian soldiers lost for every square kilometre of territory captured has risen sharply—from 67 in October to 179 by April—indicating a growing human toll associated with Russia's battlefield gains.
Slowing advances on the battlefield
The opening months of 2026 have been marked by limited territorial gains for Russian forces, raising questions about the effectiveness of Moscow's offensive campaign. Given that Ukrainian troops reportedly regained between 400 and 500 square kilometers in February and March, the overall results of Russia's operations appear increasingly modest.
After a more active 2025, the period from January through April 2026 has emerged as Russia's weakest stretch on the battlefield since 2023, with the trend showing further signs of deterioration.
“Russian forces have failed to achieve any significant operational progress over the past year," despite maintaining offensive actions across several sectors of the front,” the Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment published on May 10.
According to the Ukrainian open-source intelligence project DeepState, Russian forces captured even less territory in April than they did in March, advancing by a combined total of roughly 300 square kilometers over the two-month period. The most notable gains were recorded in the Donetsk region, where Russia occupied 53 square kilometers.
Ukraine continues to hold around 7,000 square kilometers of territory in the Donetsk region. Based on the pace of Russian advances recorded in April, analysts suggest that capturing the remaining areas under Ukrainian control would require many years and come at an enormous human cost.
Latest territorial update
In May alone, Ukraine's Defense Forces recaptured more territory in May 2026 than Russian troops managed to seize, making it the first month since Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive in which Russia recorded a negative net territorial balance.
According to Militarnyi, citing sources within Ukraine's Defense Forces, Russian forces occupied around 130 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory during May, a decline from the estimated 150–160 square kilometers captured in April.
During the same period, Ukrainian troops reportedly liberated territory or eliminated Russian positions across approximately 250 square kilometers. As a result, the net territorial outcome for May stood at roughly 120 square kilometers in Ukraine's favor.
Recenly, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has made a direct appeal to young people in Russia, calling on them to question and critically assess the information presented by their government about the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on June 3 alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Rutte underscored the harsh realities of the war, saying that Moscow is concealing the true scale of its losses in order to sustain recruitment for the front lines.
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