Ukraine’s Defence Ministry puts the number of Russian soldiers killed or wounded by Ukrainian drones since the start of 2026 at approximately 302,000. The monthly figures add up to 301,740 through 25 October, and the sentence counts drone strikes on personnel. Drones account for a large share of Russian casualties in the war, though not every one.
The Count
The ministry says each recorded hit has video evidence in Ukraine’s DELTA combat system and has been verified by the Brave1 defence innovation cluster. That distinction matters. These figures track documented drone strikes rather than a general estimate of losses across the front.
The monthly toll has never fallen below 26,000:
- January: 29,572; February: 26,204; March: 33,989.
- April: 33,961; May: 30,548; June: 27,072.
- July: 30,272; August: 29,554; September: 32,739.
- 1, 25 October: 27,829.
March remains the highest complete month, just 28 strikes ahead of April. February was the lowest. Even that trough meant more than 26,000 Russian personnel killed or wounded by drones in a single month. The scale is sustained. It results from several exceptional weeks.
October Isn’t Finished
The 27,829 figure covers only the first 25 days of October. It averages roughly 1,113 Russian personnel a day. If that pace holds through 31 October, the month would finish around 34,500, overtaking March as the year’s highest monthly drone toll. The figure is a projection rather than a completed result. Six days were still missing from the chart.
Video-recorded strikes let Ukraine measure that attrition.
The ministry’s case for expanding drone supply is written into these numbers. It says its Defence Procurement Agency contracted 300% more unmanned aerial vehicles in 2026 than in the previous year, across different types and roles. Units also receive points for verified strikes, redeemable for drones, electronic-warfare equipment and unmanned ground vehicles through Brave1 Market.
Russia keeps committing people to attacks under an increasingly dense network of Ukrainian drone crews. Video-recorded strikes let Ukraine measure that attrition. They also give it a procurement system designed to put more of the weapons responsible back into its units’ hands.