Russian military losses in Ukraine soar past 90,000 verified

The BBC portal highlights that Moscow rarely comments on its losses in the so-called special military operation. However, data collected by volunteers indicates that 15,300 prisoners, 20,600 volunteers, 15,600 contract soldiers, 10,500 mobilized personnel, and 2,400 mercenaries have died.

The average age of those killed last year was 36 years, which is higher than in the first two years of the war. Most of the deceased came from the republics of Bashkortostan (3,932) and Tatarstan (3,804). The BBC reports that among those killed from Bashkortostan, eight out of ten came from small centres: villages or towns with fewer than 100,000 residents.

Since October 2023, there has been an increase in losses among volunteers and a decrease in deaths among prisoners. The BBC indicates that this is because authorities are sending those accused before their trial is concluded to the front, allowing them to be counted as volunteers.

It is estimated that verified numbers represent only half of the actual number of casualties. This means that in reality, between 135,000 and 200,000 Russian soldiers have died.

This number does not include soldiers who died in the units of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. According to the portal, which researched obituaries and missing persons notices, by the end of September last year, between 21,000 and 23,500 individuals from this group might have died. "Therefore, it can be assumed that the total number of casualties on the Russian side ranges from 159,500 to 223,500 soldiers," the BBC summarized.

Western and Ukrainian intelligence agencies estimated in October last year that the total number of Russian losses, including missing and wounded, ranged from 600,000 to 700,000 people. Critics consider these figures to be exaggerated, noted the "Moscow Times."