Ukraine’s Drones Destroy 30,000 Russian Soldiers in January Alone—Nearly Matching Kremlin’s Recruitment Rate

Ukraine’s unmanned units eliminated more than 30,000 Russian personnel in January 2026. “All losses are verified—every strike has video confirmation in the DELTA system,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

After record losses in December 2025, Russia’s offensive potential declined, leading to a slight decrease in the number of its soldiers eliminated, Ukraine’s General Staff reported. Irreversible losses exceeded 33,000 in December. Experts also stress that losses may, in fact, be higher, but without video confirmation, nothing is counted. Likewise, if a strike hits a dugout full of Russian soldiers but bodies are not visible, it is not included in the tally.

What is also important is that for the second month in a row, Ukrainian forces have maintained a high tempo of inflicting losses on the Russian army. In November 2025, this figure stood at 26,000; in October, 24,000; and during the summer, fewer than 20,000. Drone units are increasing the pace of destroying the Russian forces and sustaining that momentum.

Why does this matter? Drones are key to containing the pace of Russian offensives, which means the front line of Ukrainian piloted units faces less pressure, the General Staff says. Drones have also pushed Russian artillery farther back, forcing it to conduct attacks from more distant positions—or to refrain from using heavy equipment altogether.

50,000+ targets

Ukraine’s ambitious goal for 2026 is to double the number of killed and wounded targets struck by drones — aiming for 50,000–60,000 irreversible Russian army losses per month from drone strikes alone.

The rationale is straightforward: to ensure that the Russian army shrinks and cannot regenerate. Various estimates suggest that the Kremlin brings 35,000–40,000 troops into its war each month—around 400,000 per year.

If the Ukrainian Armed Forces succeed in meeting this strike target, the Russian army will be unable to recover. This is critical for the war in Ukraine: over four years of fighting, Moscow has sent an entire army into the war and lost it—1.2 million people—and recruited the same number again. Having launched its full-scale invasion with 160,000 troops, the Russian grouping on Ukrainian territory has since surpassed 700,000 soldiers.

The task of unmanned systems is to bend this “curve” in the opposite direction—to steadily reduce the number of Russian troops through continuous strikes, preventing them from launching as many assaults or regenerating their forces.

How can this plan be achieved? By expanding the drone component and, more broadly, the technological sophistication of the army in every possible way, including the automation of dangerous tasks. More than 100 units are already conducting robotic ground system missions: 7,495 missions in January alone, or 242 per day. Robots save soldiers’ lives by taking on the most dangerous tasks themselves.

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