President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troop losses since the beginning of 2026 have exceeded 145,000 personnel.
Following a briefing from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky on Friday, Zelensky said nearly 86,000 Russian troops had been killed, while at least 59,000 were seriously wounded. More than 800 Russian servicemen were also taken prisoner.
He added that Ukrainian forces are continuing operations against Russian troops and equipment across several sectors, including the northeastern Sumy region bordering Russia.
“In the border areas of the Sumy region, we are achieving our designated objectives,” Zelensky said.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Russia’s total losses since the start of the full-scale invasion reached about 1,353,860 personnel as of Friday, May 22, including 880 casualties recorded over the past day.
A joint investigation by BBC Russian Service and Mediazona identified 217,808 confirmed Russian deaths as of May 9.
Zelensky’s latest comments followed recent reports from the defense minister, who said in early May that Russia has lost more troops than it can mobilize for the fifth month in a row.
Yaroslavl oil refinery hit once again
Zelensky also said Ukraine targeted a Russian oil refinery in Yaroslavl, around 700 kilometers (435 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory, overnight between Thursday and Friday.
The attack on the Yaroslavl oil facility marks the second this week and the fourth this month.
“We are bringing the war home to Russia, and this is entirely fair,” Zelensky said.
Russian officials reported an attack in Yaroslavl on Tuesday, while local monitoring channels said the target may have been the Slavneft-YANOS refinery, Russia’s sixth-largest refinery with an annual capacity of around 15 million tons of oil.
Zelensky added that Ukraine is preparing what he called “long-range sanctions,” referring to deep strikes on Russian facilities, in response to attacks on its cities and communities.
Zelensky previously vowed to retaliate following Russia’s record May 14 airstrike on Kyiv that toppled a residential building and killed 24, including 3 children.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukraine had struck 10 Russian oil refineries in May thus far, forcing the shutdown of six.