Putin: More than 700,000 of our soldiers are in Ukraine

(Patria) - Russian President Vladimir Putin claims there are more than 700,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

Putin stated this figure during a meeting with top Russian lawmakers, which was broadcast on state television, Reuters reports.

The Ukrainian military intelligence service (HUR) also estimated in early September that there were nearly 700,000 Russian soldiers on Ukrainian territory, including members of the National Guard, special forces, and logistics units.

- Most are deployed in the Donetsk region, which shows Russian priorities - HUR spokesman Andriy Yusiv said at the time.

The Ukrainian army has nearly 900,000 members across the country. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned back in January that Russia still has a numerical advantage in certain sectors of the battlefield precisely due to the concentration of forces.

At that time, according to his words, the Russian contingent in Ukraine numbered 600,000 soldiers.

Despite having suffered more than a million killed and wounded during the full-scale invasion, according to Ukrainian estimates, Russia manages to compensate for losses with new soldiers it recruits on contract.

Kyiv, on the other hand, faces a growing problem of manpower shortages.

Moscow is also being aided by North Korea. After the initial deployment of between 11,000 and 12,000 soldiers to the Kursk region at the end of 2024, further reinforcements are expected.

North Korean soldiers helped Russia repel the Ukrainian incursion across the border, and according to available data, suffered around 2,000 killed.