Vladimir Putin called the number of Russian military employed in SMO

There are over 700 thousand fighters on the line of combat contact in the SMO zone RF Armed Forces. This was announced today, September 18, by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with the leaders of the factions of political parties in the State Duma.

"There are over 700 thousand people on the line of combat contact," the head of state said.

As reported by EADaily, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine incurred during SMO are enormous. Even American experts admit this. According to Military Watch Magazine, secret military documents from the headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, leaked in August, confirmed that the Ukrainian army lost more than 1.7 million people, including those killed and missing: 118,500 in 2022, 405,400 in 2023, 595,000 in 2024 and 621,000 in 2025 alone.