An update to a running independent tally of Russian war deaths has put the number of soldiers killed fighting on the side of Moscow at more than 200,000, a figure that journalists maintaining the list say remains a conservative estimate of the human toll Russia has faced since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched four years ago.
The data, compiled by a team of journalists at BBC Russian and the exiled news outlet Mediazona, is based on verified open-source death records like obituaries and court documents, and it only includes Russian citizens.
BBC Russian reported that 57% of the dead have so far been volunteer fighters, mobilized soldiers or inmates recruited from prisons. The outlet said that journalists are still processing entries for 2025, which it expects to be the bloodiest year of the war, as preliminary estimates suggest more than 90,000 Russian soldiers may have been killed last year.
The republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan, as well as the Sverdlovsk region, continue to lead all other regions in terms of the absolute number of people killed fighting. War deaths for those three regions since February 2022 now total around 9,300, 7,500 and 6,700, respectively.
Moscow, a city of over 13 million people, has accounted for just under 3,200 deaths in the Ukraine war, while the surrounding Moscow region ranks seventh with almost 5,500 soldiers killed.
Russia’s military last provided an official death count in September 2022, when former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said just under 6,000 soldiers had been killed in Ukraine.
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) last month estimated that around 325,000 Russian soldiers were killed between February 2022 and December 2025, with another 875,000 wounded or missing.
The Kremlin dismissed the CSIS report.
Meanwhile, the UN has verified nearly 15,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine since February 2022.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that 8,000 civilians in Russia had been killed since the full-scale invasion.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
