Through open-source research, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, confirmed the names of 77,143 Russian soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Since Mediazona’s last update at the end of October, the names of 1,761 Russian soldiers have been added to the list of casualties.
The journalists note that the actual figures are likely significantly higher, as their verified information comes from public sources such as obituaries, posts by relatives, regional media reports, and statements from local authorities.
The U.K.’s defense minister said in an interview published Nov. 8 that Russian forces suffered their deadliest month in October since the start of the full-scale invasion, averaging 1,354 casualties every day.
British defense intelligence estimates Russia has likely suffered more than 696,000 losses since the start of the full-scale invasion, a figure in line with Ukraine’s current total figure of 707,540 reported on Nov. 9.
According to some experts, the surge in losses in recent months may be one of the factors behind the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 7 that North Korean troops fighting against Ukrainian forces are taking casualties in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, although he did not share the number of estimated casualties.
Since Russia began its all-out war against Ukraine over 4,300 officers have been killed in combat in Ukraine. The analysts also note that at least 14,204 Russian convicts have been killed on Ukraine’s eastern front.
According to the journalist, Russian soldiers killed in action in 2024 tend to be increasingly older in age as the average age for volunteer recruits continues to soar. The plurality of volunteer recruits killed in the war fall most prominently between the ages of 48 and 50 years old.
The bloodiest day for Moscow’s forces was on May 13, when they suffered a reported 1,740 casualties.
According to undisclosed sources and Western intelligence estimates, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sept. 17 that roughly 1 million Ukrainians and Russians have been killed or wounded since February 2022, including civillians.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
