The Number of Russian Military Casualties in Ukraine

According to a report by "Mediazona" and the BBC Russian Service, in collaboration with a team of volunteers, as of November 29, they have identified the names of 80,973 Russian military personnel who have died in the Russo-Ukrainian War since the military operations began in February 2022. More than half of the casualties (52% of total losses) were not associated with the Russian army at the time of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Journalists and volunteers classified those who signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense after the onset of the war into this category.

The updated summary indicates that there continues to be a "rapid increase in losses" among volunteer servicemen. "Their share in the overall total continues to grow and now constitutes 22% of the confirmed losses on the Russian side," the BBC Russian Service's summary states. Many volunteers die within 2-4 weeks after being sent to the front lines.

For comparison, the publication presents data on confirmed losses among this category of Russian military personnel as of November 2023, at which point volunteers accounted for only 14% of total losses. "The actual number of people coming from civilian life to the front and dying in combat after the invasion began is much larger, as we have been unable to clearly determine how 28% of our confirmed casualties ended up at the front," writes the BBC Russian Service.

Meanwhile, the proportion of convicts conscripted from colonies has decreased. In November 2023, they made up 26% of all casualties, while now they constitute 18%. Furthermore, units composed of prisoners continue to be deployed on the front lines and "take on part of the combat load," the summary indicates.