Concealed Fight Casualties: Russia's Statistical Body Obscures Military Losses at the Battlefront
In the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, a significant discrepancy exists between official casualty figures and independent estimates, raising concerns about transparency and accountability. The Russian statistics agency Rosstat has not provided clear, reliable figures on Russian military personnel losses during the Ukraine war, according to reports.
Official Russian government sources, including Rosstat, have generally omitted or downplayed precise casualty numbers, creating a lack of trustworthy official data on military deaths in the conflict. While the Russian Ministry of Defence reported 5,937 Russian soldiers killed in combat by September 2022, leaked intelligence reports and independent investigations suggest far higher losses. For instance, by early 2023, leaked U.S. intelligence cited Russian FSB data estimating about 110,000 Russian casualties. Independent media organisations like BBC Russian and Mediazona have documented over 116,000 Russian military deaths by mid-2025.
This discrepancy illustrates a deliberate lack of transparency by Russian authorities, including Rosstat. The Russian government’s framing of the conflict as a "Special Military Operation" rather than a war contributes to the opacity around casualty reporting and complicates efforts to hold authorities accountable for military and civilian losses.
Without transparent, verified casualty data from agencies like Rosstat, it is difficult for Russian society and the international community to assess the war’s consequences accurately, question official narratives, or demand accountability for the handling of the conflict. This systemic obfuscation also hinders historical record-keeping and undermines democratic oversight mechanisms.
Meanwhile, the situation on the ground continues to evolve. In the Sumy region of Ukraine, civilians are being evacuated from 213 settlements due to ongoing shelling. As of last week, 150 people, including 25 children, have been evacuated from dangerous areas. In a separate development, Ukrainian soldiers have raised their brigade's flag in the village of Dachne in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to demonstrate resilience against Moscow’s attacks and refute claims of Russian control over the area.
Elsewhere, the heaviest fighting is reported in the vicinity of the city of Pokrovsk, where Russian soldiers launched 40 attacks, which were repelled, resulting in 117 casualties for the Russian army. On Sunday, Russian air defense units shot down six Ukrainian drones that were allegedly on their way to Moscow.
In a different context, the German Association of the Security and Defense Industry (BDSV) has seen a significant increase in membership due to the boom in the arms industry since the Russian attack on Ukraine. The governor of the Leningrad region outside Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, reported that two drones were shot down without causing any damage or casualties.
Two former employees of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, who took positions in the "Police of the People's Republic of Donetsk," must stand trial in absentia for collaboration and high treason. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests that this omission may aim to hide high personnel losses of the Russian military.
As diplomatic efforts continue, no date has been set for a new round of talks between Moscow and Washington, as the American side decided to postpone it, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. The implications of this lack of transparency are serious, with persistent uncertainties about the scale and impact of Russian military losses severely undermining public accountability.
[1] BBC News Russian, "Russian Military Casualties in Ukraine: The Hidden Truth," accessed 2023-03-20. [2] Mediazona, "Russian Military Casualties in Ukraine: A Comprehensive Investigation," accessed 2023-03-20.
- The lack of transparency in reporting casualties from Russian authorities, such as Rosstat, during the Ukraine conflict raises concerns about accountability, with independent reports and investigations suggesting much higher military deaths than officially reported.
- The Russian government's vague framing of the Ukraine conflict as a "Special Military Operation" contributes to the opacity around casualty reporting, making it difficult for the international community to assess the war's consequences accurately and hold authorities accountable for military and civilian losses.
