Media Investigation Identities of 45,000 Russian Soldiers Lost in Ukraine

Defense News ,Ukraine Russia War :- The BBC Russian Service and Mediazona news outlet have revealed the names of approximately 45,000 Russian soldiers who lost their lives in Ukraine since the invasion began in February 2022.

Military casualties are a sensitive topic in both Russia and Ukraine. Russia has restricted criticism of the conflict, and official figures have not been released since 2022.

The joint effort of the BBC, Mediazona, and volunteers led to the identification of 45,123 Russian military personnel who died in the war, using open-source data like obituaries. However, it's cautioned that the actual number may be twice as high.

The report highlighted that two-thirds of the identified deceased had no prior connection to the army before the invasion, including volunteers, mobilized individuals, prisoners, and recruits from private companies, according to the BBC's Russian language service.

Despite over a year of trench warfare without significant territorial gains for either Moscow or Kyiv, the Kremlin is increasing deployments to the front.

President Vladimir Putin rarely acknowledges battlefield setbacks, instead framing the nearly two-year war as a battle for Russia's survival to inspire patriotism.

Ukraine also keeps its military losses and casualties confidential, though analysts estimate them to be in the tens of thousands after two years of continuous fighting.