Key facts
- Over 242,000 Russian soldiers have been identified as killed in Ukraine by Mediazona and BBC Russian service.
- The confirmed death toll includes volunteers, prisoners, mobilized soldiers, and officers.
- Actual Russian casualty figures are likely significantly higher than the confirmed number.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky estimated Russian military casualties at 1.6 million, with 700,000 killed.
- Ukraine's General Staff estimates total Russian troop losses at nearly 1.5 million.
- Russia is reportedly planning to mobilize an additional 600,000 recruits.
Russian independent media outlet Mediazona, in collaboration with the BBC Russian service, has confirmed the identities of 242,747 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine. This latest count, which covers confirmed military deaths from February 24, 2022, through August 27, 2026, adds 3,393 names since the outlets' previous update in mid-August.
The journalists emphasize that the actual figures are likely significantly higher, as their verified information is drawn from public sources like obituaries, social media posts from relatives, regional media reports, and official statements. The confirmed death toll includes over 88,600 volunteers, 26,600 recruited prisoners, and 20,000 mobilized soldiers, along with 7,596 confirmed officers. The date of death is known in approximately 93% of confirmed casualties.
The Kyiv Independent has stated it cannot independently verify these figures. However, independent Western assessments consistently conclude that Russian losses significantly exceed Ukrainian casualties. On July 31, President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed estimates suggesting Russian forces had suffered around 1.6 million military casualties since the invasion began, including approximately 700,000 killed. He also stated that around 50,000 Ukrainian service members had been killed and approximately 400,000 wounded.
Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces estimates that as of August 30, Russia has lost around 1,486,600 troops in Ukraine. These figures are understood to include dead, wounded, missing, and captured personnel. Western intelligence reports suggest Russia's Armed Forces have fallen short of its monthly recruitment targets, leading to considerations of further mobilization rounds. The Presidential Office of Ukraine indicated on August 27 that Russia plans to mobilize 600,000 recruits in 2026-27, citing growing public dissatisfaction with the war. Meanwhile, Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov warned that Ukraine cannot afford to mobilize fewer than 30,000 people per month, deeming an end to the war in the short term unrealistic. Mediazona was added to Russia's "foreign agents" list for a second time on August 21.