How many soldiers did Russia lose in the war against Ukraine

When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the start of the so-called special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he probably thought it would end in a few weeks or even days, just like the war with Georgia in 2008. annexation of Crimea in 2014. Instead, more than two and a half years later, there is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine, and there is bloody fighting continues in full force, with the strongest fighting now centered in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

One of the big questions is how much are both sides losing in the conflict? Various numbers are constantly mentioned in the media and social networks, sometimes decreasing over time. Undoubtedly, the propaganda element plays an important role in this “information war”, with each side in the conflict multiplying the losses of the other and covering up or not talking about themselves. .

The goal is clear: to raise morale at home and reduce it at the enemy. Even more so now, after more than two and a half years of war, few are willing to fight anymore and Moscow and Kiev are using different methods, including partial transfers and amnesties. prisoner, to get much needed soldiers.

And yet, how many people have the Russian and Ukrainian forces lost since the start of the war? Both sides are very serious about this issue.

According to a summary updated daily on the website of one of the two main Ukrainian news agencies – UNIAN, the number of Russian soldiers killed exceeds 642 thousand – an amazing number, which at the same time increases by more than 1000 every day. The state news agency Ukrinform, for its part, reported this morning that 1,500 Russian soldiers had been killed in the last 24 hours alone.

However, these statistics look more like propaganda aimed at boosting confidence in Ukraine and causing anti-war sentiment in Russia itself. It is important that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned in February about 180 thousand Russian soldiers who were killed – many times less than the data of Ukrinform and UNIAN at the time.

Therefore, in a war, when information blackout is maintained and disinformation is spread in all directions, it is difficult to say what the losses are for each side.

However, according to data analyzed by the BBC, more than 70,000 people who fought in the ranks of the Russian army have died in Ukraine. At the same time, for the first time, the category of volunteers – civilians who joined the Russian armed forces after the beginning of the war – is already the largest, the notes British public radio and television on its website.

Every day, the names of those who died in Ukraine, their obituaries and photos of funerals are published in the media and social networks throughout Russia. The BBC Russia Service and the independent Russian media center Mediazona have matched these names with data from other open sources, including official reports.

New graves in cemeteries also help measure Russia’s losses. They are usually marked with flags and wreaths placed by the Ministry of Defence.

The BBC has 70,112 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. However, the British media warned that the actual number of dead people may be much higher, as some families do not publicly share details about the death of their relatives. In addition, the analysis does not include the unconfirmed dead, or the loss of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Most of the dead were volunteers – 13,781 peoplemaking up about 20 percent of Russian losses. Former prisoners who joined the Russian armed forces in exchange for amnesty previously ranked first in the number of victims, but are now second with a share of 19 percent. Mobile citizens are in third place – 13 percent.

Since last October, the number of volunteers killed in one week has not fallen below 100. In some weeks, more than 310 deaths have been recorded, reports the BBC.

It is believed that the worse training of volunteers compared to the professional army contributes to the negative trend.

Soldiers have told the BBC that the increasing number of casualties among the volunteers is partly due to their deployment in the most operationally difficult areas of the front line, particularly in the Donetsk region. where they mostly fill in for missing military units. Many of them are thrown straight into battle, often without the necessary training and proper equipment.

An analysis of the data shows that many of these people come from small regional towns where it is difficult to find stable and well-paid work. Most of them, however, appear to have joined the Russian armed forces voluntarily, although human rights activists speak of threats and coercion in particular in the Caucasian republic of Chechnya, ruled with a strong hand by Putin crony Ramzan Kadyrov.

Salaries in the Russian army are five to seven times higher than the average in poorer regions. In addition, servicemen receive a number of social benefits and one-time bonuses, which have been increased.

Most of the volunteers who were killed were in the age group between 42 and 50 years. The oldest was 71 years old.

As for Ukraine, he rarely mentions his losses on the battlefield. In February this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country’s armed forces had killed 31,000 people, explaining that he was publishing these numbers to deny inflated figures announced by Moscow.

“Not 300,000 or 150,000 (soldiers killed in Ukraine), or as many as Putin and his lying invaders,” he said, adding that each of these people “is a great loss for us.”

Estimates based on US intelligence data, however, suggest that the victims of Ukraine are more than announced by Zelensky, notes the BBC.

So while Russia and Ukraine are locked in a stalemate, each hoping to break the other, the death toll will inevitably continue to rise. Both Moscow and Kiev are looking for ways to provide more troops, trying to do so at the lowest public cost.

Last week, for example, Putin ordered a general increase in the size of the Russian armed forces. And although the Kremlin has attributed the measure to growing threats in the West, amid a buildup of NATO forces there, there is no doubt that the war in Ukraine is part of the equation.

A shortage of military personnel is believed to be a key reason for the success of Ukraine’s surprise attack into the Russian border region of Kursk last month, the Associated Press notes.

The Institute for the Study of War announced reports on its website that Russian President Vladimir Putin had requested the Ministry of Defense to announce a new wave of mobilization this spring to make up for losses suffered. so far. The most likely reason, according to the think tank based in Washington, is to avoid the negative political consequences that would come from calling conservatives under the flags. Since then, Putin has been committed to his campaign of almost covert maneuvering, limiting Russia’s ability to maneuver, US analysts concluded.

As for Ukraine, it is also trying to replenish its missing men and exhausted military units. He has recently tightened rules on mobility, but last month President Zelensky warned that balance was needed to prevent Ukraine’s economy from suffering further.

As the war continues, many Ukrainian men who have fled do not want to return to their homeland and fulfill their military duty. Last week in Kyiv, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Szykorski proposed to stop social benefits for Ukrainian men in Europe.

So while Russia still has a significant advantage in manpower and weapons on the battlefield, as Reuters notes, it is likely to continue to act her “meat grinder strategy”.

According to Russian military personnel interviewed by the BBC, the Russian leader is actively pushing troops forward to try to stop Ukrainian forces and reveal their positions to Russian artillery. Drone footage shared online shows Russian military attacking Ukrainian positions with little or no artillery support.

It is no coincidence that the Ukrainian authorities, led by President Zelensky, keep asking their Western partners to increase military aid and allow more strikes deep into Russia. However, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not give such permission last week. The accounts may include concerns among Western powers about the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and its development into a wider war.

More than two and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation in both countries remains untenable. Therefore, each of them is still of the opinion that the outcome of the war will be decided on the battlefield and not at the negotiating table. This inevitably means many more soldiers and civilians killed.