Kathrine Frich
An independent investigation has identified tens of thousands of Russian soldiers who have died since the invasion of Ukraine began.
The findings shed new light on the scale of Moscow’s battlefield losses as the war enters its fourth year.
Who has died
According to a joint project by Mediazona and the BBC Russian service, 177,433 Russian military personnel have been confirmed killed.
The list, compiled from public records, obituaries, regional media reports and social media posts from relatives, includes photographs of the identified soldiers.
Journalists involved in the project say the real number of fatalities is likely higher than the confirmed total.
The verified figures include more than 57,200 volunteers, 21,400 recruited prisoners and around 17,000 mobilised troops.
A total of 6,414 officers have also been confirmed killed, according to the investigation.
The Kyiv Independent noted that Moscow has not provided updated official casualty figures, while losses continue to mount.
Competing estimates
Ukraine’s General Staff offers a significantly higher figure, estimating that Russia has lost about 1,250,950 personnel as of February 13.
That total includes killed, wounded, missing and captured soldiers.
In contrast, the Mediazona and BBC tally focuses only on confirmed deaths based on open-source evidence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on February 4 that at least 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Limited gains
Despite the heavy losses reported by independent investigators, Russia’s territorial advances have remained relatively limited.
The Ukrainian mapping project DeepState reported that Russian forces occupied 4,336 square kilometres during 2025, less than 1% of Ukraine’s total territory.
The updated casualty figures come as trilateral peace discussions involving Ukraine,
ussia and the United States continue, with the status of the Donbas region remaining a central sticking point.
Sources: Mediazona, BBC Russian service, Kyiv Independent, Express.
