Russia's actual losses are almost certainly substantially higher than open-source data can reveal. The military analysts we have consulted estimate that the BBC's research, which is based on graveyards, war memorials, and obituaries, probably captures only 45% to 65% of total casualties.
Added to which, the bodies of many of those killed in recent months likely remain on the battlefield, since retrieving them requires living soldiers to risk exposure to drone strikes.
Given the estimate above, the true number of Russian military deaths could range from 146,194 to 211,169. If one adds estimated losses from DPR and LPR forces, the total number of Russian-aligned fatalities may range from 167,194 to 234,669.
Russia last officially reported its military losses in September 2022, and cited fewer than 6,000 deaths.
Ukraine last updated its casualty figures in December 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged 43,000 Ukrainian deaths among soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this figure to be an under-estimate.
The website Ukraine Losses, which compiles casualty data from open sources, currently lists more than 70,400 surnames of Ukrainian soldiers. Our verification of a random sample of 400 of them found the database to be reliable.
The Ukrainian casualty list is likely more complete than the Russian equivalent, as Ukrainian presidential decrees on posthumous military awards remain publicly accessible. In Russia such data is classified.
