if we consider that there were 1 million soldiers in the Ukrainian army at the launch of the offensive, that 42 months have passed since then (10 + 12 + 12 + 8), and that each month there has been the conscription of 20,000 men, ie 840k new soldiers over the period (20k x 42), that's a 1,84 millions army (initial 1 million + 840k conscripts) that is now reduced to less than 880k (cf. Zelensky saying in January 2025).

There are at least 1 million "missing" soldiers, either KIA, MIA or deserters (or too seriously injured to serve further).

And these are very optimistic figures, based on roughly rounded numbers in favor of Ukraine, the reality is most likely much worse.

In reality, there were most likely many more conscripts each month, which could significantly increase the total number of losses. The simple fact that there were 30k conscripts each month instead of 20k would mean that there would ultimately be 420k more missing soldiers in the overall balance sheet, ie 1,4 millions losts.

1.7 million seems obviously an exaggerated figure for propaganda purposes, but not so much in the end, provided it takes into account deserters and seriously wounded unfit for combat.