The Russian army faces enormous challenges. According to the Finnish newspaper “Uusi Suomi” should Russia have major problems compensating for losses at the front. Former Finnish lieutenant colonel and military expert Jarmo Nieminen stated that the Russian armed forces are suffering from an “urgent shortage” of soldiers.

The number of losses is so high that more and more untrained soldiers are being sent directly to the front. This leads to a spiral of increasing losses and decreasing combat effectiveness. “The Ukrainian reports show that some completely unprepared troops are fighting there,” said Nieminen, according to Uusi Suomi. “Ukrainian soldiers even report that they feel sorry for the Russian fighters.”

Massive losses at the front

Many of the soldiers deployed are poorly trained and hardly prepared for war. president Vladimir Putin had originally guaranteed 30 days of training for new soldiers, but this promise could no longer be kept due to the lack of personnel, said Nieminen.

The losses of the Russian army are shockingly high: according to the analysis platform “Carnegie Politics“Since the beginning of the war, over a million soldiers have been killed or seriously injured. In 2025 alone, around 400,000 Russian soldiers died – that corresponds to around 1,100 deaths per day. What is particularly striking is the high number of missing people who have now been declared dead by court order. By the end of 2025, around 90,000 such applications had been submitted.

Recruiting is becoming increasingly difficult

Recruiting new soldiers is also becoming increasingly problematic. According to Carnegie Politicsa, Russia continues to recruit up to 40,000 contract soldiers every month, but the quality of these recruits is declining sharply. Many of them come from socially disadvantaged groups such as the unemployed or prison inmates.

The government has also doubled bonuses for joining the army to meet recruitment targets. But the number of people willing to go to war for money continues to decline.

Drone warfare poses new challenges

Modern warfare presents Russia with additional challenges. According to Carnegie Politicsa, the army urgently needs specialists in drone operations, but current recruits are often unmotivated and poorly trained.

A separate campaign to recruit drone operators has been launched, but this diverts resources from ground forces. Experts see this as another sign that Russia is having increasing difficulties maintaining its military capabilities.