Journalists Identify 285,023 Russian Soldiers Killed in Ukraine

Journalists from the Russian-language service of the British public broadcaster BBC and the independent online outlet Mediazona, working together with a team of volunteers, have established the names of 285,023 Russian soldiers killed in the war in Ukraine. According to military experts' estimates, the actual number of dead in the Russian army may exceed 500,000, meaning the published list reflects only part of the losses.

How the total is estimated

The BBC says soldiers whose deaths have been confirmed through publicly available sources make up 45% to 55% of the real number of fatalities in the Russian army. On that basis, total Russian army deaths could range from 518,224 to 663,384.

If one adds those who fought in units of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk "people's republics", estimated at between 21,000 and 23,500, as well as 2,304 identified North Korean soldiers killed, total losses among pro-Russian forces could range from 541,528 to 689,188.

Data sources

Since Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine began, Mediazona and the BBC's Russian-language journalists have been counting killed Russian soldiers together with volunteers. They rely on open sources: obituaries posted on government and media websites, posts on social networks, and photographs of burials.