Ukraine Refutes Kremlin Claims of 1.7 Million Military Deaths as Fake News

Russian propaganda has been spreading false claims that 1.7 million Ukrainian military personnel have been killed or gone missing, alleging a hack into Ukraine's General Staff database. Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have debunked these claims, emphasizing that Ukraine's entire armed forces numbered around 880,000 as of January 2025, and that such losses are impossible. Ukrainian data as of August 20, 2025, indicate that Russian losses exceed one million killed or wounded, which is three times higher than Ukrainian losses, undermining Russian propaganda narratives. The Kremlin's goal with these fabrications is to demoralize Ukrainians and weaken international support for Ukraine. Russian hacker groups claim to have breached Ukrainian military systems and assert the 1.7 million loss figure, but these assertions lack credible evidence and are contradicted by official Ukrainian sources. US President Trump also confirmed that Russian troop losses in 2025 greatly exceed Ukrainian casualties, reinforcing Ukraine's position.