Russian Losses Reach Record Levels Despite Lack of Major Battlefield Gains — Analyst

06.08.2026, 02:34 uatv.ua

Russian forces suffered record losses in July while failing to achieve significant operational breakthroughs on the battlefield, military and political analyst Dmytro Sniehyrov said in an interview with FREEДОМ, UATV English reports.

According to Sniehyrov, Russian losses in July reached 42,860 personnel, the highest monthly figure since the beginning of 2026. Despite the scale of casualties, Moscow has been unable to secure meaningful advances along the front.

The analyst said the fiercest fighting remains concentrated on the Donetsk front, where the Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka, and Lyman directions account for roughly one-quarter of all combat engagements.

Speaking about Kostiantynivka, Sniehyrov dismissed Russian claims that the city has fallen under Moscow’s control.

“Despite statements from the Russian side claiming full control over Kostiantynivka, the reality is the opposite. The occupiers are attempting to break through in the private residential sector — the so-called ‘Shanghai’ district — while small Russian assault groups are infiltrating the western outskirts of the city. At the same time, Ukraine’s Defense Forces are conducting raid operations to prevent any further Russian advance,” he said.

According to the analyst, the front line effectively runs through the center of Kostiantynivka, directly contradicting Russian narratives that the city has been captured.

Sniehyrov added that Ukraine has reinforced the Kostiantynivka sector with additional drone operator units, allowing Ukrainian forces to hold their positions while inflicting heavy personnel and equipment losses on Russian troops.

He also noted a significant shift in Russian tactics near the Dobropillia and Pokrovsk directions.

“After two years of fighting, the occupiers have failed to break through Ukrainian defenses on the Pokrovsk axis. As a result, they abandoned their previous tactic of infiltrating with small assault groups and switched to attacks involving large numbers of armored vehicles and infantry. Those assaults proved unsuccessful,” he said.

According to Sniehyrov, Russian military sources themselves have acknowledged losing more than 20 armored vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers, along with dozens of soldiers during those attacks.

“These are enormous losses considering that Ukraine’s Defense Forces destroyed the assault columns within just a few hours. Despite every attempt to break through Ukrainian defenses on the Dobropillia and Pokrovsk directions, the occupiers have achieved no success,” he said.

The analyst argued that the Kremlin continues to mislead its domestic audience about the state of the war.

“Putin needs to justify the fact that after five years of the full-scale invasion, despite numerical superiority, greater firepower, and an advantage in armored vehicles, the Russian army has failed to achieve even tactical objectives, let alone strategic ones.”

He added that the Kremlin’s original war aims have effectively disappeared.

“No one is talking anymore about ‘denazification’ or ‘demilitarization.’ The war has boomeranged back against Russia itself — up to 40% of its oil refining capacity has been disabled. Moreover, the strategy of creating so-called ‘buffer zones’ has failed. The Russian dictator continues to brazenly lie to the Russian people about his army’s supposed successes. The reality is that Kupiansk, Sloviansk, Lyman, and Kostiantynivka all remain under the control of Ukraine’s Defense Forces,” Sniehyrov concluded.

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