Russia and Ukraine: what the confirmed figures of dead Russian soldiers from the invasion tell us
Every day Russia buries soldiers who died in Ukraine.
The BBC estimates that the 20% of the dead reported by the Russian regions had the rank of officers.
But what do these data say about the state of the army fighting in Ukraine?
The 25 March was the last time the Russian Defense Ministry reported losses: they said 1,300 soldiers died in Ukraine .
The Ukrainian armed forces give a much higher figure: 18,351.
As of April 5, official Russian sources have published the names of at least 1,083 deceased soldiers.
Most of the data comes from the reports of the chiefs of the regions or districts to which the deceased soldiers belonged.
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Personnel of rank
Of the 1,083 dead identified, 93 are officers, from junior lieutenants to generals.
They constitute the 20% of all military personnel on the confirmed casualty list of the Russian army, which the BBC maintains since the beginning of the war.
During the first report made by the BBC Russian Service, a similar trend was observed: of the 557 dead identified, 109 were official, that is, the 19.6%.
Such a high number of officers on the loss lists does not mean, however, that for every five Russians who died on the battlefield one was an officer.
Samuel Cranny-Evans, of the British Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), says that traditionally, the bodies of fallen commanders in the Russian military are sent back in priority and their deaths are more likely to be publicly announced.
“In past conflicts, the Russian military paid more attention to the evacuation of the bodies of dead officers. And less attention to the military of lower rank. But at the same time, the officers really constitute the backbone of the Russian army“, comments the expert.
In the list of losses, the BBC found 10 colonels (including a captain of the first rank), 20 lieutenant colonels, 25 older and 155 junior officers (from junior lieutenants to captains).
Ukraine claims that seven Russian generals have already died, but Russia has only confirmed the death of the general of Andrei Sukhovetsky division.
In the armies of NATO countries, many tasks in the field of battle can be made by sergeants, corporals and other subordinate ranks.
In the Russian army, decisions of a similar level can only be made by officers with the rank of at least lieutenant.
“Russian officers provide tactical leadership and training for their platoons or battalions. Sergeants in the Russian army often only control the team or follow orders, that is, they do not lead anyone. This means that officers are forced to take on more roles in management. Therefore, a Russian officer is more likely to die in combat than officers from many other armies,” says Cranny-Evans.
Paratroopers without support
When studying the casualty list confirmed in Russia, another trend is noticeable: around the 11% of all identified dead served in the airborne troops.
Experts interviewed by the BBC point out that Russian paratroopers are widely used to solve tasks which, in theory, could be entrusted to conventional infantry.
But Russian military commanders prefer to use the Airborne Forces, since these units are usually much better prepared both physically and mentally.
Relative casualty rate The relatively high rate among paratroopers is not surprising, says Rob Lee, senior fellow at the US Foreign Policy Research Institute
“Airborne troop units participated in the operations in the most difficult sectors of the front: in Hostómel, the battles near kyiv and the clashes in the south of Ukraine”, he adds.
On the first day of the war, the army Russian troops landed at the Antonov airport, in the town of Hostómel.
The troops hoped that the Russian army, which had arrived from Belarus, could establish contact with them and bring them supplies.
This did not happen and the 22 March, after a month of intense fighting, Ukrainian troops regained control of the airport.
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Cranny-Evans explains that Russia’s combined arms operations were relatively slow and airborne units on the front line were left without regular troops or air support.
There is also information on casualties of other Russian elite units.
The list of losses that the BBC was able to confirm includes 15 representatives of the special forces GRU military intelligence (including five officers) and 10 representatives of the special forces of the national guard .
Among the dead are at least three officers of the “red berets“ , the elite of the special forces of Russia: Ruslan Galyam ov and Oleg Kirillov, from Tatarstan, and Vyacheslav Aktyashev, from the Perm region.
So that If you have an idea, the selection for the right to wear a red beret is considered one of the most difficult military tests in the world.
The list of casualties confirmed by the BBC also includes people of unexpected professions.
The 28 in March, Briansk journalists reported the death of a sergeant major of the military band, Alexander Karpív. It is specified that Karpív played the trumpet.
The tasks he carried out in Ukraine are not mentioned in the reports .
Long way home
In most cases that are public knowledge, the bodies of the dead are delivered to the relatives two or three weeks after death.
For example, a second lieutenant special forces of the national guard, Ruslan Galyamov, according to published data, died on 11 of March and was buried on 20 of March.
In some cases, it took more than a month to bring the body home.
Mikhail Bakanov, from 14 years old, according to official data, he died on the second day of the war, on 25 February. They were only able to deliver his body at the end of March.
Such delays are generally typical of major modern conflicts, according to the British Royal Institute for Defense and Security Studies.
“In a situation like the one in Ukraine, the living will always have priority over the dead. And efforts will always focus on those who are alive”, says Cranny-Evans.
“Sending the bodies of those who can no longer be helped to their homeland becomes a background. The situation is aggravated by the constant change of the combat front. At this stage of the conflict, it is difficult for both parties to protect their flanks from enemy incursions”, he adds.
Dead Bodies
Several witnesses have repeatedly stated that, while retreating, the Russian army leaves the bodies of their dead soldiers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky , said that kyiv has offered to transfer the corpses to Russia, but the Kremlin “at first refused and then offered some kind of bags.”
In the second half of March, the head of the Mikolaiv regional administration, Vitaly Kim, urged local residents to report on the location of the bodies of Russian military personnel in the territories liberated by Ukraine.
“No they always take their and in spring and summer it will be our problem. Please tell us where they are, […] if possible, collect them in bags to return them for DNA identification, because these soldiers also have mothers”, he said.
At least three Russian soldiers were identified after a DNA test.
Alexander Vavilin, from 21 years old, from Nizhny Novgorod, died on 27 February, but his relatives were not informed of his death until April 1.
All this time an investigation was being carried out, according to local media: they were waiting , among other things, by the results of a DNA test.
Alexander Yemtsov, a native of Transbaikalia from 20 years, was also identified only thanks to a genetic test: Yemtsov was burned to death in an armored personnel carrier.
Jobs in the army
The region of Russia where they have lost the most soldiers is Dagestan: it is known that 93 have been buried there.
A high death toll was also reported in Buryatia (52), the Volgograd region (48), the Orenburg region (39 ) and North Ossetia (26).
This does not necessarily mean that certain regions have sent more soldiers than others to Ukraine.
“Most of the soldiers hired in the army russian are pe rsons from the periphery, this is not the South, nor the North Caucasus, but the entire periphery: cities, towns and small and medium-sized villages”, Professor Natalya Zubarevich, an expert in urban development, explains to the BBC.
The academic points out that people from poor or moderately poor regions also tend to join the army.
“The military is a major employer in areas where it is almost impossible to earn money. Recruitment in the army gives you a stable salary and security”, emphasizes Zubarevich.
Different positions
Russia’s regions still maintain different positions towards the publication of information on the dead.
In eight regions there was no official reports of military deaths.
But in three of them – the Tomsk region, the Republic of Adygea and Chukotka -, the BBC was able to confirm reports on funerals of Russian soldiers who have died in Ukraine.
Until the end of March, the authorities of the Kemerovo region did not officially report on deaths in Ukraine.
In the course of the BBC’s first investigation into losses in the Russian army, it was possible to identify seven residents of Kuzbas who died in the war.
Little of Later, the authorities of the Kemerovo region, which had previously remained silent, announced details about 11 dead soldiers , without naming them.
Since then, the data has not been officially updated. So far, the BBC has been able to identify at least 18 people of the Kemerovo regionwho died in Ukraine.
“In the Kemerovo region, the governor has relied more emphatically on a victorious rhetoric of approval and paid less attention to the issue of the cost of the war,” says political scientist Mikhail Vinogradov.
Vinogradov believes that Moscow deliberately delegated to the heads of the regions the duty to report on the human losses of the invasion, which Russia calls “special operation”.
“I think there is a desire not to unnecessarily traumatize citizens with the aggregate figures of losses; therefore, they occur rarely and, sometimes, in a vague way”, says the expert.
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In some regions of Russia there have been cases where the media reported the death of Russian military personnel, but later deleted the report.
“It is not forbidden to collect information about the dead soldiers, but, as far as I know, all media media outlets in the region have been told not to air or publish this for the time being. And to say when it will be possible to publish… personally, I guess never,” a Siberian journalist told the BBC on condition of anonymity.
More beyond the borders
Coffins with Russian soldiers who died in Ukraine reach not only the regions of Russia, but also countries of the former USSR.
The 25 March, the funeral of Egemberdi Dorboev was held at the Issyk Kul region, in Kyrgyzstan.
The mayor of Norilsk said that Dorboev had recently arrived in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and lived there with his mother.
The young man had Russian citizenship and in the fall of 675 was drafted into the army. He died at years.
Rustam Zarifulin, of 26 years, who signed a contract with the Russian army and died in Ukraine, was also buried in Kyrgyzstan.
The bodies of two Russian soldiers (Saidakbar Saidov and Ramazon Murtazoev), who died in Ukraine, were buried in Tajikistan.
And in the capital of South Ossetia, which broke away from Georgia, Russian Sergeant Andrei Bakaev, who participated in the war, was buried.
“Before, people from some post-Soviet countries aspired to join the Russian army, because it was a way to obtain Russian citizenship. Now there are no such preferences”, says human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina.
Although she adds that for some immigrants, the military remains an attractive employer.
“With Tajikistan, for example, Russia has an agreement on dual citizenship. And people who served as conscripts in the Tajik army are also officially considered to have served in Russia, ”she says.
How did the BBC calculate the losses?
Every day in Russia, and more and more, new names of war dead and photographs of funerals are published.
Often the names are published by the heads of Russian regions or representatives of district administrations, local media and educational institutions where soldiers previously studied.
The BBC based its analysis only on reports that contained specific information about the deceased, including full name and rank and, if possible, place of burial.
Media reports citing sources about dozens and sometimes hundreds of deaths were not taken into account if they did not contain specific information on names and surnames.
Reports of deaths of non-Russian military personnel were also not taken into account.
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