Journalists Find 219,000 Russian War Deaths Through Public Records

Russian public records indicate that by August 2025, the country’s military losses in the war against Ukraine have reached about 219,000 dead, according to an investigation by Meduza and Mediazona.

The media outlets analyzed Russia’s inheritance case registry as well as name lists of the dead compiled by media and volunteers.

The study found that Russian combat deaths had grown sharply each year. Journalists estimated that about 50,000 servicemen were killed in 2023 and roughly 93,000 in 2024.

The deadliest month was November 2024, when up to 3,000 soldiers were killed each week.

“One possible explanation is that since the second half of 2024, Russian courts have begun receiving a large number of lawsuits to declare servicemen missing or dead,” Mediazona reported.

A separate name list maintained by the BBC Russian Service, Mediazona and volunteers includes 125,681 confirmed deaths as of the end of August 2025. The outlets note the tally is incomplete, as many deaths are not reported publicly.

The Kremlin does not release official figures on killed or wounded soldiers in Ukraine.

Western media, citing intelligence, have estimated total Russian losses in the war at several hundred thousand, including both killed and wounded.

Ukraine’s General Staff said on August 29th that Russia had lost 1,080,480 soldiers killed and wounded since the start of the invasion. Also, 850 were eliminated in the previous 24 hours.

Russian commanders continue to send assault units into battle, often suffering heavy casualties. Recently, Ukrainian forces destroyed a group of Russian troops near the village of Temyrivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.