The number of Russians who died in the war in Ukraine exceeded 70 thousand

The number of Russian servicemen killed during the war in Ukraine exceeded 70 thousand. This was announced by “Mediazona” and the Russian service of the BBC, which conduct a nominal count of losses. The researchers specify that these are only the dead, whose names have been established from open sources, and the real number of casualties may be significantly higher.

More than half of all those killed by February 2022 were not related to the army. About 20% of all those killed are volunteers. Since October of last year, the number of casualties among volunteers began to increase, and since September of this year, more of them have died than other categories of war participants, including mobilized and imprisoned, recruited in prisons and colonies.

Journalists note that the average portrait of a Russian fighter has recently changed. “If in 2022 the typical serviceman whose death was confirmed by the BBC was about 21 years old, and he was a contract worker serving in elite units: special forces, airborne forces or marines, then today older men are increasingly going to the front 40, 50 and even 60 years old, often without combat experience and special training,” they point out.

The BBC and Mediazon together with a team of volunteers keep lists of the dead, based on reports from open sources: mass media, statements of local administrations, posts of relatives on social networks and data from cemeteries. They emphasize that the real number of dead may be significantly higher. The military experts interviewed by them assume that 45% to 65% of all the dead are in the field of view According to journalists, the real number of casualties on the Russian side may range from 107,864 to 155,804.

At the beginning of this week, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources in American intelligence, estimated the death toll on the Russian side at 200,000 people.

• Russia and Ukraine do not disclose war losses. The last time an accurate official Russian estimate was given in September 2022, when Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced 5,937 dead military personnel, these data were immediately called by researchers many times understated. In Ukraine, an official assessment was given for the last time in February, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced 31,000 dead.