Ukraine War: Russia Loses Over 50,000 Soldiers
A report compiled by BBC Russia, Mediazona (an independent investigative group), and volunteers monitoring the conflict in Ukraine reveals a dramatic increase in the number of Russian soldiers killed in the war's second year.
The death toll now surpasses 50,000, according to The Telegraph.
This figure, with 27,300 Russian soldiers killed in the second year alone, highlights the exorbitant human cost Moscow is paying for its illegal territorial gains, analysts argue. The brutal tactics of the Russian army, often compared to a meat grinder due to their disregard for their own soldiers' lives, involve sending wave after wave of troops to the front line. The aim is to expose Ukrainian troop locations and deplete their resources.
The detailed analysis of data from open sources, official reports, social media, and press articles is further confirmed by verifying the names on recently dug graves in 70 Russian cemeteries. This combined analysis indicates a nearly 25% increase in deaths among Russian servicemen. Aerial photographs reveal the rapid expansion of cemeteries to accommodate the overwhelming number of soldiers killed in what the Institute for the Study of War describes as "ineffective human wave-style frontal assaults" in the battles for the Ukrainian cities of Vuhledar, Bakhmut, and Avdiivka.
The death toll of 50,000 is eight times higher than the only public confirmation of casualties offered by Moscow in September 2022. It most likely underestimates the actual losses of the Russian army. The analysis excludes deaths among pro-Russian separatist forces in Donetsk and Luhansk, the occupied regions of eastern Ukraine.
The BBC estimates that at least 40% of the dead Russian soldiers had no prior military experience. To replace wounded or killed professional soldiers on the battlefield, volunteers, civilians, and even prisoners are being recruited. Their lack of training makes them easy targets in the brutal "meat grinder" tactic, which relies on frontal attacks with artillery support.
Prisoners were previously recruited by the Wagner mercenary group as well, but the practice ceased after a failed revolt attempt led by the organisation's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Russia has ordered only one reservist mobilisation since the war's start. However, they continue to recruit prisoners to supplement their forces.
The BBC analysis reveals a dramatic difference in survival rates: former prisoners recruited by Wagner survived an average of three months, while those recruited by the Russian Ministry of Defense had a life expectancy of just two months on the battlefield.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in February that Ukraine had lost approximately 31,000 soldiers, but other estimates suggest much higher figures.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
