More than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the number of verified Russian military casualties has exceeded 100,000, according to an independent tally by BBC’s Russian service and Mediazona.
The report highlights that nearly one-quarter of the fallen soldiers were volunteers, while over 16% were convicted prisoners who had been recruited to fight. Additionally, more than 11% of those killed were mobilized troops, while members of motorized rifle units accounted for nearly 7% of the casualties. Airborne forces comprised over 3%, and private mercenaries made up slightly more than 2% of the dead.
Among the casualties were more than 4,800 officers from the Russian Armed Forces and other security agencies. Their proportion of overall deaths declined significantly over time, dropping from 10% in the early months of the invasion to around 2-3% by late 2023. This shift coincided with Russia’s increased reliance on volunteers and convicts for frontline combat.
Mediazona also reported that in nearly 30% of cases, the deceased soldier’s military branch remained unidentified. The data, compiled from open sources such as official statements, obituaries, and social media, underscores the limited transparency from Russian authorities regarding battlefield losses. The Russian Defense Ministry continues to downplay casualties and insists on referring to the war as a “special military operation.”
Geographically, the highest number of confirmed deaths occurred in the republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan, with 4,487 and 4,371 fatalities, respectively. The Moscow region followed closely, with 4,091 confirmed deaths. Additionally, at least 323 foreign nationals who fought for Russia were identified among the dead, though the nationalities of 333 others remain unverified.
Of the 85,400 soldiers whose ages were confirmed, nearly 43% were between 30 and 41 years old, indicating that Russia’s war effort has drawn heavily from its middle-aged population rather than just younger recruits.
BBC Russia and Mediazona caution that their verified figures likely represent only about half of the actual death toll. Based on their estimates, the total number of Russian military fatalities could exceed 200,000. The count includes soldiers killed in partially occupied Ukrainian territories and annexed Crimea since October 2022, further underscoring the high human cost of the ongoing conflict.
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