The BBC and the independent outlet Mediazona have identified the names of 100,001 Russian soldiers who have been killed during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since the media outlets' last update in mid-March, the names of 2,007 Russian soldiers have been added to the list of casualties. The most recent update marks a grim milestone for the project, which first began with the start of the full-scale war in February 2022.
The journalists note that the actual figures are likely significantly higher, as their verified information comes from public sources such as obituaries, posts by relatives, regional media reports, and statements from local authorities. The media outlets publicly released the full list of named casualties for the first time last month.
The media organizations claims to have been the frequent targets of misinformation campaigns seeking to discredit "the project by making it seem unreliable or easily manipulated," through the use of falsified obituaries, the journalists added.
The confirmed death toll now includes 24,200 volunteers, 16,100 recruited prisoners, and 11,600 mobilized soldiers, according to the media outlets. Over 4,800 officers have also been confirmed to have been killed.
On Feb. 24 independent Russian media outlets Meduza and Mediazona estimated in a report that around 165,000 Russian troops have been killed since the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including nearly 100,000 in 2024.
President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Feb. 15 that Moscow had lost around 250,000 soldiers, with 20,000 killed in battles for Russia's Kursk Oblast alone.
Russia has gained ground in eastern Ukraine and Kursk Oblast in recent months but at the cost of heavy casualties as well as equipment losses.
Moscow does not disclose its casualty figures, though a Defense Ministry official let slip in December that the department received 48,000 requests to identify missing soldiers.
In an interview with NBC published on Feb. 16, Zelensky said over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 380,000 injured on the battlefield.
As of March 28, Russia has lost a total of 910,750 troops since the full-scale invasion began, Ukraine's General Staff reported. The estimate, which is broadly in-line with estimates made by Western intelligence agencies, likely includes those killed, captured, wounded, and missing.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
