What is known about Russia's losses in the war in Ukraine by October?

BBC, together with "Mediazona" and a team of open-source volunteers, identified the names of 266,032 Russian servicemen who died during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In the last month, the names of 22,358 deceased Russian servicemen were added to the database. However, such a large increase is not directly related to the situation at the front.

Most of the recently added names, specifically 18,657 people, are those who had long been considered missing in action and whose bodies were found by evacuation teams in 2025-2026. Some of these soldiers died in battles as early as 2022, but most were killed in 2025.

BBC and "Mediazona" provide the following example where a death was documented 375 days after the person went missing.

Before the start of Russia's full-scale war with Ukraine, Yevgeny Kutliev, a resident of Russian Novgorod, led an ordinary life. In 2016, he was sentenced to eight years for attempting to sell drugs.

Павялічыць

While incarcerated, he completed a vocational technical school and obtained a qualification as an electrician. In 2022, he was released and went to work at the Velikiye Luki Electrical Equipment Plant. He then worked as a carpenter, bought a car on credit, and sometimes placed online bets with bookmakers.

In 2025, Yevgeny signed a contract with the Russian army. In early July, he disappeared during a combat sortie. Relatives searched for him for over a year.

And only on July 17, 2026, which is 375 days after the day of his death in the war, Yevgeny's death was officially documented and registered.

An analysis of the stories of 10 thousand Russian servicemen whose bodies were found by evacuation teams during 2025-2026 showed that, on average, remains were found only 150 days after death.

And the official documentation of death occurred even later – on average, after 236 days.

For comparison: in 2022, the deaths of Russian servicemen were officially documented, on average, 36 days after their demise, and in 2023 – after 25 days (data based on 30 thousand analyzed cases).

Since the beginning of 2026, journalists have been able to confirm the deaths of over 90 thousand Russian servicemen. However, less than 10% of this number accounts for losses in 2026, while the remaining confirmed losses pertain to individuals who died from 2022 to 2025.

Does this mean that the Russian army is now incurring significantly fewer losses? No. The data rather indicates that it has become much more difficult to account for losses.

What are the real figures for Russia's losses in the war against Ukraine?

The actual losses on the Russian side are greater than the number of deceased whose names can be confirmed through open sources.

According to military experts, the results of analyzing Russian cemeteries, military memorials, and obituaries may cover between 45% and 55% of the actual number of deceased.

Not all deaths are reported publicly. Furthermore, the bodies of a significant number of servicemen who died in recent months still remain on the battlefield. Attempts to evacuate them are associated with serious danger to the living – primarily due to the threat of drone strikes.

Based on expert estimates, the actual number of deceased on the Russian side could range from 483,695 to 591,182 people.

The total figure becomes significantly higher when considering those who fought against Ukraine as part of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR units, as well as the losses of North Korean units that fought in Russia's Kursk region.

An analysis of obituaries and 2022 publications about missing fighters from the LPR and DPR suggests that 21,000–23,500 people had died by the end of 2022.

The BBC Korean service identified the names of 2,304 Korean soldiers who fought on the side of Russian forces and died in 2024-2025.

Thus, according to the collected data, the total losses of pro-Russian forces could range from 506,999 to 616,986 servicemen.

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