Tuesday marks four years since Russia’s renewed full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II. The end of the bloodshed unleashed by dictator Vladimir Putin remains nowhere in sight.
Although trilateral talks between representatives of Ukraine, the United States and Russia have been launched with Washington’s mediation, they have yielded virtually no results, as Moscow has not retreated from its absurd demands and shows no genuine willingness to end the war.
According to a January report by the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), both sides have suffered a total of 1.8 million killed, wounded or missing in action. Between February 2022 and December 2025, Russia lost 1.2 million troops, including 350,000 killed. These are the largest losses suffered by a major power since World War II.
CSIS estimates that Ukraine has lost between 500,000 and 600,000 troops, including 140,000 killed.
Meanwhile,
the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has recorded 14,999 Ukrainian civilians killed by Russian invaders,
though it acknowledges that the true number is likely higher. More than 40,600 civilians have been injured. Among the dead are at least 763 children.
Last year was the deadliest for civilians since 2022. In 2025, 2,514 civilians were killed in Ukraine and 12,142 were injured — a 31% increase compared to 2024.
According to data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russia currently occupies 19.1% of Ukraine’s territory, including the Crimean Peninsula and parts of Donbas seized before 2022. Last year, however, invading forces managed to capture only 0.79% of Ukrainian territory, despite heavy losses in personnel and equipment.
Meanwhile, Western aid to Ukraine declined by 13% last year compared to the average annual support between 2022 and 2024, according to estimates by the Kiel Institute.
After returning to the White House in January last year, US President Donald Trump halted military aid to Ukraine financed by U.S. funds. European countries, seeking to compensate for the shortfall, increased their military assistance by 67% in 2025.
At the same time,
international humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine decreased by 5% last year compared to the previous three years.
Before the war, Ukraine’s population exceeded 40 million. As a result of Russia’s aggression, 5.9 million Ukrainians have fled the country. Approximately 5.3 million of them have found refuge in Europe, according to data published in February by the UN office in Ukraine.
Another 3.7 million Ukrainians who were forced to leave their homes have resettled elsewhere within Ukraine.
According to the World Health Organization, since the start of the renewed invasion until the 11th of February this year, Russian forces have carried out 2,851 attacks affecting Ukraine’s healthcare system. These include 2,347 strikes on healthcare facilities, ambulances and medical supply warehouses.
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