The Kremlin’s recruitment policy is shielding society from the true impact of war.
www.bbc.com
Counting the dead
Russia's actual losses are almost certainly substantially higher than open-source data can reveal. The military analysts we have consulted estimate that the BBC's research, which is based on graveyards, war memorials, and obituaries, probably captures only 45% to 65% of total casualties.
Added to which, the bodies of many of those killed in recent months likely remain on the battlefield, since retrieving them requires living soldiers to risk exposure to drone strikes.
Given the estimate above, the true number of Russian military deaths could range from 146,194 to 211,169. If one adds estimated losses from DPR and LPR forces, the total number of Russian-aligned fatalities may range from 167,194 to 234,669.