Journalists identified the names of 50,471 people who died in the war in Ukraine

50,471 names of Russian servicemen who died in Ukraine by April 12 were managed to be established by BBC and Mediazon journalists together with a team of volunteers. This is only the one whose death became known from open sources. The real number of casualties may be much higher, according to investigators.

Since the last summary two weeks ago, 1190 names have been added to the list of the dead. Teams of analysts who calculate the losses of military equipment report that in the last few weeks, Russia has lost a large number of tanks, armored personnel carriers, BMPs and artillery.

By April 12, the death of more than 3,300 officers of the Russian army and other security forces during the entire war was confirmed. 390 of them are in the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher.

The given figures are only those losses reported by officials, mass media, relatives of the dead, as well as data from cemeteries. Recently, investigators began to apply the second method of estimating excess male mortality, based on data from the registry of hereditary cases. This method of calculation gives a figure of approximately 85 thousand dead Russians since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

• Ukraine and Russia rarely publish official data on their losses.
• At a press conference on February 25, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time disclosed the losses of the Ukrainian army in the war with Russia. According to him, 31 thousand Ukrainian soldiers died. It is not known whether it was only about the army or about all armed units controlled by the command of the Armed Forces.
• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in December that the Ukrainian army had lost 383,000 people killed and wounded. Moscow itself does not reveal its losses in the war. According to Zelensky, the Russian army lost 500 thousand people killed and wounded. Parties to military conflicts tend to underestimate their losses and exaggerate the losses of the enemy.