Russia’s hidden war toll: Investigative reports reveal 66,500 dead
How many soldiers has Russia lost during the war in Ukraine? The Kremlin hides this data. Ukraine announced on Saturday that the enemy's total losses amount to nearly 679,000 people. These include both the wounded and the dead. Investigative journalists have determined that at least 66,500 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine.
"As of 30 August, we know the names of 66,471 Russian soldiers who have died in the war (in Ukraine)," Mediazona reported on its Telegram channel. Among them are nearly 4,000 officers.
The actual number of the fallen is likely significantly higher, the service noted.
The findings are based on official press releases, media publications, and social media and documentation of fresh graves observed in cemeteries.
The Kremlin cites state secret
In mid-April, Mediazona, in collaboration with the Russian BBC newsroom, reported that they had identified over 50,000 fallen Russian soldiers.
How many Russians have died in Ukraine? The Russian side rarely reports military losses, citing state secrecy regulations. At a meeting with foreign news agencies in early June, Vladimir Putin refused to specify the losses of the Russian army in Ukraine, stating only that they are lower than the Ukrainian losses "in the ratio of one to five."
In late February this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated the number of killed Ukrainian soldiers at 31,000—recalls AFP.
Public records and estimated data
Mediazona admits that its data on fallen Russian soldiers in Ukraine is not complete. It gathers information from open sources. "Of course, not everyone is on this list—after all, not every death becomes publicly known," the article reads.
Journalists from Mediazona, along with reporters from the Meduza service, analysed the Russian inheritance registry from recent years and estimated excess mortality among men. These data indicate that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, over 120,000 Russians might have died.
As early as August 2023, "The New York Times," citing representatives of U.S. authorities, estimated Russian losses at about 120,000 soldiers.
