How many Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine – BBC investigation

Last year was the most deadly for the Russian forces Since the onset of the full scale in Ukraine: at least 45,287 people have been killed.

This number is almost three times the first year of the invasion and significantly exceeds the losses of 2023, when the biggest and most murderous battle of the war took place in Bachmut.

At the beginning of the war, the casualties were recorded during waves during key positions, but in 2024 the death toll increased from month to month.

The Russian forces were moving forward slowly, losing 27 soldiers for each kilometer of Ukrainian territory they occupied, as the Bbc.

How many Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine

The Russian BBC service, in collaboration with the Independent Mediazona Media and a group of volunteers, has been processed by open sources of Russian cemeteries, military monuments and necrology.

So far, they have identified the names of 106,745 Russian soldiers killed during the complete invasion of Ukraine.

The actual number is clearly much higher. Military experts estimate that the above number can cover between 45% and 65% of deaths, which translates to 164,223 to 237,211 people.

What was the most deadly day for Russian forces

February 20, 2024 was the most deadly day for Russian forces last year.

Among the victims were Aldar Baayrov, Igor Babic and Ohudzon Roustamov, who belonged to the 36th Motor Rifle Brigade, when four large -scale Himines struck a field of training near the city.

Source: BBC

They had been ordered to line up for a medal award ceremony. Sixty -five soldiers were killed, including their commander Colonel Musaev. Dozens of others were injured.

Bairov, 22, and from the East Siberian Bouriatia, had studied to become a specialist in food hygiene, but was recruited for compulsory military service and then signed a contract to become a professional soldier.

In February 2022 he went to fight in Ukraine and participated in the battle for Borodianca during the advance of his brigade to Kiev in March 2022. The city was almost completely destroyed. Ukrainian sources say Russian soldiers were involved in the execution of civilians, the BBC writes.

Ohudzon Rustamov, 31, and from Siberian cheetahs, worked as an electrocutizer after his compulsory term in the special forces. He was recruited during a partial recruitment in October 2022.

Unlike Rustamov, Igor Babic, 32, had volunteered in the war. He had worked with adults and children who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, helping them with physiotherapy until April 2023.

A total of 201 Russian soldiers died that day, according to BBC data.

The update from Soigu to Putin

A few hours after hitting the exercise field, then Russian Defense Minister Sergei Soigu met with Vladimir Putin to transfer the news of the military success from the front line.

There was no mention of the attack on the field of exercise, nor was there any reference by the Ministry of Defense in his daily reports.

A relative of Ochunzon Rustamov said she had already burying three close members of her family during the war. « In December 2022 my husband died. On February 10, 2024, my godfather. And on February 20, my half -brother. From one funeral to another, « he said.

Source: BBC

The change in the pattern of losses

The BBC notes that its analysis prioritized the exact dates of the soldiers’ death. If not available, the funeral date or date reported by death were used.

During the first two years of the war, in 2022 and 2023, Russian casualties followed a corrugated pattern: fierce battles with high losses alternated with periods of relative tranquility.

In 2023, for example, most casualties occurred between January and March, when the Russian forces tried to occupy the cities of Vuchlendar and Bachmut in the Donetsk region.

In the first year of the full invasion, according to BBC calculations, Russia lost at least 17,890 soldiers. This number does not include the losses by Russia’s two forces in the occupied eastern Ukraine.

In 2023, this number amounted to 37,633.

In 2024, there was no period that recorded a significant reduction in victims. Intensive attacks on Pokrovsk and Toretsk followed the bloody battles for Abdiba and Robott.

Kursk’s case

In August 2024, Russian soldiers were killed when the Ukrainian forces invaded the border in the Kursk area. Only from 6 to 13 August, it is estimated that 1,226 Russian soldiers have died.

However, the biggest overall casualties occurred during a slow Russian advance in the east between September and November 2024, according to leading US military analyst Michael Kofman.

« The tactic (the Russian army used) emphasized repeated attacks with scattered raid groups, using small infantry fire groups, which increased overall losses in terms of gaining ground, » he explained.

After nearly two years of intense battles, the Russian forces occupied the Vuchlentar logistical infrastructure hub in Donetsk on October 1, 2024.

According to estimates by the US War Study (ISW), from September to November 2024, Russian forces occupied 2,356 square kilometers in Ukraine.

Even then, the Ukrainian forces on the front did not collapse.

The cost of this advance was at least 11,678 deaths of Russian soldiers.

Real losses are probably higher. The BBC has calculated only the soldiers and officers whose names appeared in publicly available obituary and whose dates of death or funeral coincided with this period.

In total in 2024, according to ISW, Russia occupied 4,168 square kilometers of land. This means that 27 Russian soldiers are killed for each square kilometer, and the injured do not include the injured.

How are the recruitments affected

Russia has found ways of replenishing its exhausted forces.

« Russian recruits also increased in the second half of 2024 and overcame Russian casualties, allowing Moscow to create additional formations, » Michael Kofman said.

Lumps payments to soldiers signing new contracts have increased in three Russian regions. Battle salaries for volunteer soldiers are five to seven times higher than average salary in most areas.

The BBC also classifies the volunteers who signed to avoid criminal prosecution, which was allowed by law in 2024.

Volunteers have become the fastest increasing category of victims in BBC calculations, constituting one quarter of the victims we have identified.

Source: BBC

No military experience

In 2023-2024, thousands of volunteers who signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense were sent on the front lines just 10-14 days later. Such a little training will have dramatically reduced their chances of survival, experts say.

A Russian Republic, Baskortostan, has the highest number of victims, with 4,836 confirmed deaths. Most came from rural areas and 38% had gone to fight without military experience.

The one -off payment for the signing of a Russian army contract in Ufa is 34 times the average salary of the area which is 67,575 rubles (600 pounds of England).

The calculation of deaths from open source data will always be incomplete, the BBC points out.

This is due to the fact that the bodies of a significant number of soldiers killed in recent months may still be on the battlefield and their meditation is a danger to soldiers serving.

The real account of the dead of the Russian forces is significantly increased, if included, and those who fought against Ukraine in the name of the self -proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk democracies.

An evaluation of the necrologies and reports for the search for fighters who have lost their contact shows that from 21,000 to 23,500 people may have been killed by September 2024.

This would raise the total number of dead to 185,000 to 260,700 troops.