Russia's losses increase its reliance on foreign fighters – Bloomberg

The Russian army is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign fighters in its war against Ukraine, as Russian forces are suffering more losses than they can replenish with new recruits.

According to Ukrinform, Bloomberg stated this in an article.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said that Russia is increasingly relying on foreign fighters in the war against Ukraine because its troops are sustaining heavier losses than they can replace.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told European colleagues this week that Ukraine had managed to inflict more losses on Russian forces over the past two months than the Kremlin had been able to recruit, Healey told Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

This is forcing the Russian armed forces to rely more heavily on thousands of foreign fighters, he said, including mercenaries from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Cuba, Nigeria, and Senegal.

They are "often recruited under false pretenses and press-ganged under pressure without necessarily realizing that they're destined for the Russian meat machine on the front line of Ukraine," Healey noted. He estimated the number of North Korean troops fighting for Russia at around 17,000.

Last week, Bloomberg wrote that in January Russia suffered approximately 9,000 more frontline losses than it was able to replenish.

According to Healey, in some sectors of the front the casualty ratio has also increased from about six to 25 Russian losses for every Ukrainian casualty.

Western officials believe this trend, supported by the increased supply of drones to Ukraine, is a key factor in mounting pressure on Russia.

As reported by Ukrinform, total combat losses of Russian forces from February 24, 2022, to February 15, 2026, in the war against Ukraine amount to approximately 1,253,270 personnel, including 1,250 over the past day.