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'Impossible to ban grief' — how Russia tries and fails to hide its casualties in Ukraine
Russia

'Impossible to ban grief' — how Russia tries and fails to hide its casualties in Ukraine

by Karol Luczka

Russia has tightened control over information about its battlefield losses in Ukraine, cutting off data and closing one public loophole after another. The effort has not stopped the evidence of the dead from surfacing. As 2025 came to an end, Western governments and independent groups alike tallied staggering figures for Russia's battlefield losses in Ukraine, reaching no fewer than 400,000 killed, wounded, and missing that year. According to some estimates, Russia could have lost more soldiers

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Russia steps up attacks with Kh-32 missiles — here's what we know

On Jan. 24, Ukraine's Air Force reported intercepting nine Kh-32 missiles, drawing renewed attention to a weapon that Russia has until now used sparingly in attacks on Ukraine, but often with devastating consequences. Known for its high speed and steep flight profile, the missile has long posed a serious challenge for Ukraine’s air defenses, with advanced systems such as the U.S.-supplied Patriot among the few capable of countering it. The missile is extremely difficult to intercept, due to it

Tu-22M3 with a Kh-32 missile in an undated photo.

About Russia

The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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