Ukraine's General Staff reports roughly 1,500 Russian personnel losses in past day
Ukraine's General Staff released its daily and cumulative Russian combat-loss update for September 12, 2026, reporting approximately 1,500 Russian personnel killed or wounded over the previous day and around 1,505,380 personnel lost since February 24, 2022. The update also tallied equipment losses across tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, air defense systems, drones, and other categories, with the General Staff noting that figures are subject to clarification.
Key points
- General Staff reports ~1,500 Russian personnel killed or wounded in the past day
- Cumulative Russian personnel losses since Feb. 24, 2022 estimated at ~1,505,380
- Tank losses: 12,342 (+1); armored fighting vehicles: 25,322 (+10)
- Artillery systems: 49,601 (+85); MLRS: 2,115 (+6); air defense: 1,633 (+11)
- Operational-tactical UAV losses: 512,175 (+2,045); automotive/tankers: 147,849 (+638)
- Ground robotic systems: 2,586 (+13); special equipment: 4,676 (+10)
- Aircraft total 442 (+1 confirmed for a previous period); helicopters 356; cruise missiles 5,103; ships/boats 35; submarines 2
- General Staff says the figures are being updated and refined
Why it matters
The General Staff's daily bulletin is the standing reference for tracking Russian attrition in the war, providing a consistent baseline for personnel and equipment losses since the start of the full-scale invasion. The figures shape how Ukraine's battlefield impact is assessed domestically and are routinely set against external estimates from British intelligence, NATO, and independent researchers such as CSIS, BBC Russian Service, and Mediazona.
What happened
On September 12, 2026, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published its morning update on Russian combat losses. It reported approximately 1,500 Russian personnel killed or wounded over the previous day, bringing cumulative personnel losses since February 24, 2022 to roughly 1,505,380. Equipment tallies included 12,342 tanks (+1), 25,322 armored fighting vehicles (+10), 49,601 artillery systems (+85), 2,115 multiple launch rocket systems (+6), and 1,633 air defense systems (+11). Air losses stood at 442 aircraft (with the +1 confirmed for a previous period) and 356 helicopters. Drone losses reached 512,175 operational-tactical UAVs (+2,045), with 2,586 ground robotic systems (+13), 147,849 vehicles and tankers (+638), and 4,676 units of special equipment (+10) also recorded. The General Staff noted that the data is being clarified. A separate update issued for September 13, 2026 cited past-day personnel losses of 1,520.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian outlets consistently present the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as the authoritative source for daily and cumulative Russian loss figures, framing the personnel and equipment tallies as outcomes of Ukrainian Defense Forces' actions. Ukrainian-language coverage also highlights the contrast between regular Ukrainian updates and the absence of recent official Russian casualty disclosures — Russia last published its own figures in September 2022 at 5,937 dead.
Where reporting differs
Two differences appear across reporting. First, daily personnel losses are listed at roughly 1,500 in the September 12, 2026 cumulative update, while a later figure for September 13, 2026 places the past-day total at 1,520. Second, the +1 aircraft added on September 12 is described in one source as a loss confirmed for a previous period rather than a fresh shoot-down during the reporting day.
Background
Russia last officially published its own casualty figures in September 2022, reporting 5,937 dead, and has not issued updated totals since. British intelligence has assessed that at least 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022; NATO estimates place the real death toll at up to half a million. On July 31, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian losses had reached 1.6 million personnel, with about 700,000 killed, and that at least 50,000 Ukrainian military personnel had been killed (a February figure was 55,000), with nearly 400,000 wounded and many missing. A BBC Russian Service and Mediazona investigation had identified by name nearly 235,000 dead Russian military personnel as of July, and a July 1 study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated combined Russian and Ukrainian killed-and-wounded losses at over two million since the start of the full-scale invasion.