The names of 281,753 Russian soldiers killed during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have been confirmed. Researchers say the actual death toll could be significantly higher.
Three units traditionally considered elite forces of the Russian army have also made the top 10 list of military units that have suffered the heaviest losses during the war. The 810th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Brigade has lost at least 2,000 personnel, ranking sixth. The 155th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Brigade ranks eighth, with 1,829 deaths, while the 76th Air Assault Division ranks ninth, with 1,809 deaths.
Around 10 percent of the confirmed casualties are personnel from the airborne forces and naval infantry. The largest group among those killed consists of volunteers, with 98,464 deaths, accounting for 35 percent of the total. Among contract soldiers, the death toll stands at 73,814, or 26 percent.
A total of 27,550 people who were released from prison and sent to the front have been killed, accounting for 10 percent of the total. Among those drafted into the army through mobilization, 20,814 have been killed, representing 8 percent. Of those, 42 percent died within the first few months of arriving at the front.
Researchers estimate that the published figures may account for only 45–65 percent of the actual death toll. This means the real losses could significantly exceed the number of confirmed names.
Russian authorities have not released official statistics on the number of service members killed during the war.
The list of confirmed casualties identified by name helps illustrate the human cost of the war, but it does not provide a complete picture. If the researchers’ estimate is accurate, the number of known deaths may represent anywhere from slightly less than half to around two-thirds of the actual toll. The published figures should therefore be viewed as a confirmed minimum, rather than a final count.
The distribution of casualties is also noteworthy. Volunteers and contract soldiers together account for more than half of all deaths, while the high number of fatalities among mobilized personnel in the first months highlights the importance of service conditions and the amount of time spent at the front. However, these figures alone do not make it possible to determine the circumstances in which members of other groups were killed. Until Russian authorities release official statistics, independent estimates will remain one of the main ways to assess the human toll of the war.
