Biggest clue yet to Russian casualty toll in Ukraine invasion comes to light

Ever since Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, the number of Russian soldiers killed during the war has been a mystery. However, it was recently revealed that Russian officials ordered 230,000 certificates for relatives of deceased veterans, giving a much clearer picture of the human cost actually suffered by its military.

Russia rarely publishes the human losses it suffers from the war, and as of September 2022 only acknowledged the deaths of nearly 6,000 soldiers, but a discovery by Verstka, an independent Russian news outlet, exposed a higher number.

According to Verstka's report, since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia's Ministry of Labor and Social Protection has ordered nearly 1 million combat veterans' certificates, of which 230,000 were specifically for the relatives of soldiers who have died in the war.

"The figures may indirectly indicate the approximate size of the Russian group that participated in the battles and losses," the media outlet said highlighting that since June the list of those entitled to certificates includes not only soldiers of the regular army but also volunteers killed during the war, such as mercenaries of the Wagner Group.

The figure is close to the one published by Ukraine

The number of these certificates is close to the 270,000 Russian casualties estimated by Ukraine, as of September 18 when the report was published through its Armed Forces' social media. It should be emphasized that this number also includes wounded.

Another estimate

Last July an investigation on the number of Russian soldiers killed was published. On that occasion, the study was based on statistical concepts and used inheritance records and official mortality data, but that estimate spoke only of about 50,000 dead, a number far below that set forth in the Verstka report.