At least 78,329 Russian servicemen have died on the frontline since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. This is evidenced by calculations conducted by journalists of the BBC Russian and Mediazona together with a team of volunteers on the basis of open data.
As the BBC notes, the current rate of increase in confirmed deaths at the front has become the highest for the entire duration of the war. In September, researchers recorded an average of 140 Russian military deaths confirmed each day. In October, those numbers rose even more sharply, to 152 confirmed deaths per day. This rate of casualty growth is 1.6 times higher than the average daily figures for 2023, and more than double the 2022 data.
The rise in casualties may be the result of an active Russian offensive in the Donetsk region, as well as gradually emerging confirmed Russian casualties in the Kursk region, the BBC writes.
The most casualties were recorded among military personnel who signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry after the full-scale invasion began. Their share in the total death toll reached 23% of the total number of confirmed losses of the Russian side – 16,551. The average age of the dead is 38 years old.
“The real losses are obviously much higher than can be established through open sources,” the BBC adds.