Ukraine’s top general says that drones are now taking out Russia’s soldiers as fast as it gets new ones into battle

***From Business Insider’s Sinéad Baker:***

Ukraine’s top general said that for the first time in the war, its drones are killing or seriously wounding Russia’s soldiers as fast as it can get new troops into the field.

Drones are the top battlefield threat, responsible for the most casualties in this war. Ukraine relies heavily on them, especially the cheap first-person-view drones, as solutions to its manpower and equipment shortages.

Ukraine’s commander in chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Tuesday in a Telegram post that December was the first month in which Ukraine’s uncrewed systems units “neutralized” about as many Russian servicemen as it called up in a month.

He said video confirmed 33,000 Russian losses last month. “The real losses of the occupiers are greater,” the general said.

Syrskyi did not provide a number for the number of Russian soldiers called up. Business Insider is unable to independently confirm Syrskyi’s claims.

Russia hasn’t provided official casualty figures. As for the number of new Russian soldiers sent to Ukraine each month, a US assessment put the number around 30,000 last April. In May, however, the Russian president said that the number was twice that. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment in December said that Russia fulfilled its 2025 mobilization target of 403,000, an average of more than 36,000 a month.

Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine are a mixed bag of contract soldiers who volunteer for the fight — Russia attracts volunteers with various perks, like signing bonuses — conscripts pulled in through draft cycles, and other sources. Russia has previously recruited people out of its prisons.

Though exact losses are unclear, Ukrainian and Western intel assessments point to substantial attrition. Russia has a much larger population to draw soldiers from than Ukraine, which is also said to have suffered significant losses in this war. Some estimates put Russian losses at 1,000 troops a day.

[Read more about Ukrainian drone activity here.](https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-take-out-russias-soldiers-fast-new-ones-2026-1?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=insider-ukrainewarvideoreport-sub-comment)

Surely time for a breakthrough then?

Or have drones taken away the armour advantage so the WW1 trench warfare will just continue but with less men but more drones/robots?

It is like a deadly wack-a-mole. I wish the moles would rebel against their master, and go home.

No more Russians will be unlucky and not get a drone. 😀