Verified Russian military casualties in Ukraine have increased to at least 152,142 since the full-scale invasion began. BBC Russian and Mediazona released the updated total after reviewing open-source information, including obituaries, death notices and court documents. The data covers only Russian citizens. It excludes fighters linked to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics.
The regions of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Sverdlovsk recorded the highest confirmed losses. Bashkortostan reported 7,643 deaths, while Tatarstan reported 6,599. Sverdlovsk followed with 5,386 fatalities. By contrast, Moscow, a city with more than 13 million residents, accounted for 4,520 confirmed deaths. Chechnya reported 372 fatalities during the same period.
Smaller communities continue to suffer disproportionate losses
Investigators noted that casualties remain concentrated in smaller towns and rural districts. Around 67% of confirmed deaths came from communities with fewer than 100,000 residents. These settlements represent less than half of Russia’s total population. Analysts say the imbalance underscores longstanding social and economic disparities across the country.
Alexei Zakharov, an economist at the University of Chicago, told BBC Russian that these patterns align closely with regional dependence on federal subsidies. He said regions relying heavily on Moscow for financial support tend to record higher casualty rates.
Western assessments show significantly higher totals
Western governments widely believe that Russia’s actual losses far exceed the verified figures. British intelligence in June estimated that Russia suffered around 1 million total casualties. That number included as many as 250,000 troops killed. London also assessed that Russia’s irreversible losses, including missing personnel and those too seriously wounded to return to duty, likely reached 400,000 to 500,000.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia lost about 100,000 troops killed in the first half of 2025. President Donald Trump later stated that Russia recorded more than 112,000 deaths since January. He compared the figure with roughly 8,000 Ukrainian fatalities during the same period.
Independent estimates indicate even broader losses
The Economist estimated that Russia may have lost around 31,000 troops between May 1 and July 9 alone. It said total losses could fall between 900,000 and 1.3 million, including 190,000 to 350,000 irreversible casualties. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington reported similar numbers. Analysts there estimated around 1 million total Russian casualties, including 250,000 killed and over 400,000 severely wounded.
