The BBC Russian service in collaboration with the investigative journalism website Mediazona (in Russia it is considered a ‘foreign agent’) and a group of volunteers managed to identify the names of 45,123 Russian soldiers killed in the war in Ukraine from February 2022 to today.
Of these, at least 6,614 were killed between October 2023 and February 2024, i.e. the period when Russian troops were attacking Avdiivka and the surrounding areas of the Donetsk region.
From the analysis of the obituaries it is concluded that the greatest losses during the Avdiivka attack were suffered by those belonging to the categories of penitentiary inmates, volunteers and conscripts.
The total losses on the Russian side in 2023 were 27,906 soldiers, i.e. by 57% increased compared to the first year of the war which were 16,044.
Actual number unknown
These are only those losses that could be identified based on open sources, writes the BBC Russian service, pointing out that the actual number of dead (without taking into account the territories of the so-called “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk) may to be double. “And we came to this conclusion – writes the Russian service of the BBC – by systematically studying the situation in cemeteries in 70 regions throughout the territory of Russia.”
Starting from October 2023, the identified weekly losses of the Russian military began to increase significantly.
In August and September, an average of 360 military deaths were confirmed each week. However, starting the count from October 9, the weekly confirmed losses reached 550-600 dead.
The heavy losses in Avdiivka
This large increase coincides with the news of the start of the new military operation, which was related to the attack on Avdiivka (in general, the fighting in this city has not stopped since February 2022) and other populated areas in the Donetsk region.
From October 2023 to February 20, 2024, 6,614 Russian servicemen were confirmed dead. According to the data of the American secret services, between October and December the losses of the Russian army in the direction of Avdiivka – Novopavlovka, including the dead and wounded, reached 13,000.
Losses among Russian air force pilots are high. This year Russia has lost at least 62 air force pilots. Another 13 pilots were killed in 2023 on the territory of Russia during the rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin. The largest mass casualties were suffered by the Russian Air Force on the first day of the invasion of Ukraine. In total since the start of the war Russia has lost at least 216 air force pilots. These are significant losses, as Air Force pilots are unique in that they take at least six years to train and the cost of training exceeds three million dollars.
Source: APE-MPE, AFP, with information from the Russian service of the BBC
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