More than 70,000 Russian volunteers died in war in Ukraine
- 20 September, 10:04
The number of volunteers fighting in the Russian military since the start of full-fledged invasion of Ukraine has now exceeded 70,000 people. According to an analysis conducted by the BBC, the number of volunteers joining the Russian armed forces since the start of the war in February 2022 now make up the highest number of people killed in this war.
The BBC identified the names of 70,112 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, while stressing that the actual number could be much higher as some families do not share details of their relatives’ deaths publicly. The analysis also does not include the deaths of the military killed in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are under the Russian occupation.
Among the killed 70,112 Russian soldiers, 20% or 13,781 were volunteers, followed by former prisoners (19%) who joined the ranks of the Russian army in return for being pardoned for their crimes. Mobilised soldiers or citizens called up to fight account for 13% of Russia’s military death toll.
As for Ukraine’s military losses, Kyiv has rarely been commenting on the number of its fallen soldiers. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged in February that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the hostilities since more than two years ago. However, estimates based on US intelligence suggest greater losses among the Ukrainian troops.
The report about Russia’s military death toll comes amid another media analysis revealing that Russia had been anticipating Ukraine’s cross-border assault on its Kursk region and was preparing for months to counter it. Leaked documents shared with The Guardian suggest mounting anxiety within the ranks, compounded by low morale and rising casualties.
