The BBC Russian Service, together with Mediazona and volunteers, have identified the names of 90 019 Russian servicemen who died during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
At the same time, 23% of all deaths — that is, almost one in four — were people who signed a contract after the war began. For comparison, by November 2023, volunteers accounted for only 14% of the total number of casualties.
More than half of the identified casualties are people who were not affiliated with the Russian army and “Rosgvardia” at the start of the war. In particular, 17% of all known casualties are prisoners who went to the front from penal colonies, and another 12% of the casualties were mobilized.
Since October 2023, Russian media have recorded a sharp and steady increase in casualties among volunteers. At the same time, the share of prisoners is gradually decreasing. This is primarily due to the fact that now they are trying to send Russians to the front even before trial.
The leader in confirmed casualties is Bashkortostan, with at least 3 932 natives of the region killed in the war. Eight out of ten of those killed went to the front from rural areas or cities with populations of less than 100 000.
17% of the confirmed deaths were active-duty soldiers, meaning those who were already serving in the army at the time of the invasion. 4 641 of the total deaths were officers, including nine generals and 500 people with the rank of lieutenant colonel and above.
The media emphasize that the real losses of the Russian army are much higher than can be established through open sources. Military experts interviewed by journalists suggest that an analysis of Russian cemeteries, war memorials, and obituaries may cover 45-65% of the real number of dead.
That is, according to Russian media, the real number of deaths on the Russian side is between 138 500 and 200 000.
- The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on January 24 that the Russian Federation had lost more than 826 000 soldiers killed and wounded since the beginning of the invasion.
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