Unveiling the Swath of Russian Casualties in Ukraine
In stark contrast to Moscow's secrecy, independent media outlets have managed to piece together the names of approximately 40,000 Russian soldiers who have perished during the Ukraine conflict, starting from Russia's invasion in 2022. Mediazona, in collaboration with BBC Russia, has emerged as a significant source of these casualty data, having identified 39,424 names through open-source research. The latest tally, updated as of December 1, includes 1163 additional names.
The grim tally, however, may only be the tip of the iceberg. Mediazona emphasizes that their count is derived from publicly accessible sources, such as obituaries, relatives' contributions, regional media news, and local authorities' reports. Since the war's commencement, 2900 officers have met their end in Ukraine, with 337 of them holding the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher. Lieutenant General Oleg Zokov, one of the higher-ranking Russian military officials, lost his life during the conflict. The majority of the casualties hailed from the Sverdlovsk, Bashkir, and Chelyabinsk regions and the Republic of Buryatia.
The Krasnodar region and Moscow region have contributed a notable number of reports of casualties. Mediazona attributes this pattern to the diligent efforts of volunteers who document soldiers' final resting spots in local cemeteries, aiming to raise public awareness of the vast scale of the tragedy.
The Great Shroud of Secrecy
Controversially, Russia has yet to shed light on the real extent of its losses. Early on in the conflict, numbers were disclosed, only for Russia to subsequently remain silent on the matter. The pro-Kremlin newspaper "Readovka" reported 13,414 Russian soldier fatalities by April's end in 2022. However, Western analysts have begun to converge on a common ground, interpreting the data differently.
US officials estimated, as reported by The New York Times, that there have been around 300,000 Russian casualties – a figure comprising an estimated 120,000 fatalities and between 170,000 to 180,000 injuries. The Wall Street Journal mirrored this estimate, reporting 315,000 overall casualties at the beginning of December. The British Ministry of Defense also aligned with the US estimation, projecting around 320,000 casualties.
Regardless of the disparities in estimation, the international community, including the USA, has both condemned the Russian incursion into Ukraine and urged an immediate Russian troop withdrawal. The ambiguity surrounding Russia's casualty accounts has not dampened the global community's outcry.
