Ukraine war: troop losses for Putin’s Russia hit 50,000, BBC report
- The BBC found that more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died during the second year of the war, a 25-percent increase on the first year
- Responding to the report, the Kremlin said it did not disclose any information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the defence ministry’s remit
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They found that more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died during the second year of the war, a 25-percent increase on the first year.
BBC Russian, Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022, using open-source information from official reports and the media, as well as using satellite images of Russian cemeteries to estimate the number of new graves.
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Ukraine said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers, but that figure is also likely to be significantly lower than the true toll.
Russian losses spiked in January 2023 as it launched a large-scale offensive in Donetsk, and again months later last year during the battle for the city of Bakhmut.
Responding to the report, the Kremlin said it did not disclose any information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the remit of the defence ministry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added official secrets laws and those covering what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine meant it was “absolutely understandable” that the ministry did not release the figures.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a controversial mobilisation bill aimed at boosting troop numbers, parliament said on Tuesday.
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The parliament’s website said the bill had been “returned with the signature of the President” on April 16, after receiving final approval from lawmakers last week.
The new law toughens penalties on draft dodgers, incentivises conscription and obliges men to keep their military registration details with the authorities up-to-date.
But controversially, the law does not demobilise long-serving soldiers on the front, a proposal lawmakers scrapped after facing pressure from Ukraine’s military.
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Lawmakers say the issue of demobilisation will be addressed in a separate bill, but have not given details.
Kyiv has ceded ground to Russian forces since late last year as it struggles with a shortage of manpower and hold-ups in much-needed aid from Western allies.
Earlier this month, Zelensky signed into law separate legislation lowering the age of mobilisation from 27 to 25, expanding the number of men eligible to fight.
The new laws are designed to boost Ukraine’s fighting potential but have caused anger in a nation exhausted by more than two years of battling invading Russian forces.
