Estimates by independent media: Over 350,000 Russians aged 18-59 killed on battlefields in Ukraine since February 2022

(Patria) - Independent Russian media Mediazona and Meduza published yesterday, for the first time this year, a new estimate of total Russian military losses in Ukraine.

According to their report, 352,000 Russian men aged 18 to 59 have been killed since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The joint report, published symbolically on Russia's Victory Day, states that the estimate is based on data from the publicly available Russian Register of Inheritance Proceedings and on a confirmed database of killed Russian soldiers maintained by the aforementioned media, BBC News Russian, and a group of volunteers.

To date, the names of 217,808 Russian soldiers killed in the war have been confirmed.

For the first time, the calculation includes soldiers who have been declared dead or missing by court order in cases where bodies have not been found or identified.

The media report that about 90,000 of the estimated deaths fall into this category, while approximately 261,000 are classified as conflict victims, identified through inheritance and other official records.

According to the report, the number of court requests to declare soldiers missing or dead began to rise sharply in mid-2024.

The release coincided with the annual Victory Day parade in Moscow, which traditionally marks the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.

This year's parade was significantly smaller in scale and without military equipment, which is unusual for this annual event.

The new estimate by independent Russian media is lower than the figures published by the Ukrainian military. According to data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia had lost about 1,340,270 soldiers by May 9 since the start of the invasion.

In addition to human losses, the Ukrainian military states that Russia has also lost 11,920 tanks, 24,541 armored combat vehicles, 95,252 vehicles and fuel tanks, 41,712 artillery systems, 1,780 multiple rocket launchers, 1,371 air defense systems, 435 aircraft, 352 helicopters, 281,208 drones, 33 ships and boats, and two submarines.

Independent Western estimates also show that Russian losses significantly exceed Ukrainian ones.

The CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies) analytical center from Washington stated in its report from January this year that Russian casualties are approximately two to two and a half times greater than Ukrainian ones.

According to the same report, Ukraine likely had between 500,000 and 600,000 casualties from February 2022 to December 2025, including both killed and wounded, of which an estimated 100,000 to 140,000 soldiers were killed in combat.

Russia has not published comprehensive official data on its war losses in Ukraine.