The number of victims will be much higher 45,000 identified dead: Russia is paying a high price in blood
February 21, 2024, 9:05 pm Listen to the article
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Russia is stonewalling when it comes to releasing numbers of wounded and killed soldiers. However, there are numerous public sources that allow conclusions to be drawn. The media looks at them and can prove the deaths of more than 45 thousand soldiers. Several thousand lost their lives just to conquer Avdiivka.
According to a media investigation, at least 45,000 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine since the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022. The BBC Russian service and the Russian media company Mediazona, together with “a team of volunteers, managed to identify the names of 45,123 Russian soldiers who died in the war in Ukraine since February 2022”, according to a media report.
Between October 2023 and February 2024 alone, more than 6,600 soldiers would have died. During this period, among other things, intense fighting took place over the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. Russian troops managed to conquer them a few days ago, after the Ukrainian military withdrew due to a lack of ammunition. According to US information, 13,000 Russian soldiers were killed or injured near Avdiivka between October and December alone. According to information, a total of 16 thousand Russian soldiers died in Ukraine in 2022. In 2023 there were almost 28 thousand.
The number only contains the names of soldiers “who were recorded in publicly available data – mainly obituaries,” he said. The real number of deaths could therefore be twice as high.
Russian volunteers are getting younger and younger
Two-thirds of the identified dead had no connection to the army before the invasion, according to media reports. The Russian service told the BBC that they were volunteers, mobilized people, prisoners and recruits from private companies. Furthermore, volunteers are increasingly younger. According to analyses, in 2022 the majority of them were still over 40 years old. Meanwhile, more and more young men volunteered to fight. In 2023, it was documented that 64 dead Russian soldiers were only 18 years old at the time of their enlistment. In the spring of 2023, the Duma approved a law allowing young graduates aged 18 to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
The war in Ukraine has been going on for two years. The number of deaths is a sensitive issue – neither side publishes official figures. Western estimates point to 200,000 injuries and deaths in Russian fighting since February 2022. Analysts believe there are also tens of thousands of fatalities in the Ukrainian army.