WARSAW: The BBC and the independent Russian news site Mediazona reported on Friday that they have documented approximately 70,000 Russian soldiers killed since the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This figure is derived from publicly available sources, including official statements, media death notices, social media announcements, and tombstones in Russian cemeteries.
“We have identified the names of 70,112 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, but the actual number is believed to be significantly higher,” the BBC noted. They emphasized that some families choose not to disclose details about their relatives’ deaths, and their analysis excludes names that could not be verified, as well as deaths of militia members in Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
In mid-August, the same organizations estimated the toll at 66,000. Mediazona, alongside another independent Russian outlet, Meduza, has also examined official inheritance data, leading them to speculate that the military death toll could be much higher—potentially reaching 120,000. In Russia, casualty figures are considered classified.
Ukraine remains cautious about reporting its own losses, fearing it may demoralize its citizens after more than two and a half years of conflict. In February, President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned that around 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died, though analysts believe the actual number is likely much higher.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the war has resulted in a total of one million soldiers killed or injured on both sides.
A confidential Ukrainian estimate from earlier this year suggested that the number of dead Ukrainian troops could be around 80,000, with 400,000 wounded. Meanwhile, Western intelligence assessments of Russian casualties vary, with some estimates suggesting nearly 200,000 dead and around 400,000 wounded.
