115,000 killed and 500,000 wounded: in the Russian Federation these figures were considered incredible before the war - The Guardian
According to Western estimates, Russia's losses in Ukraine are estimated at 115,000 killed and 500,000 wounded. According to the available data, it is ten times higher than the number of Soviet soldiers who died in Afghanistan. The Guardian writes about it. BBC and the Russian edition of "Mediazon", according to official calculations and obituaries on social networks, persons 74 014 of the dead Russians were installed on social networks.
The authors of such calculations say that the real number of dead is probably between 113 and 160 thousand dead. Over the past six months, the number of dead has increased significantly, saying "Mediazones". The Russian fighting tactics are to exhaust the Ukrainian forces and find vulnerabilities in positions and get involved in battle. Ukrainian drones often capture Russians during the assault with almost no protective equipment, with minimal support from air or artillery.
Despite the high losses, such tactics are effective, which, according to journalists, explains the capture of Avdiivka, Bakhmut and Coal. "For Russia, the goal is justifies the means," the former official from the Russian Defense Ministry said on the conditions of anonymity. "Before the war, such losses would be considered incredible. Now, the generals are unlikely to worry about Putin's demands.
" Despite the losses, the Russian Federation, apparently, manages to replenish personnel at the expense of reserves. Up to 30 thousand recruits are recruited every month - about the same bundle from the battlefield. Last summer and autumn, Russia's losses increased, but the recruiting campaign also intensified. According to the Ukrainian OpenMinds Research Center, after the emergence of the Armed Forces in the Kursk region, the number of Russian ads about recruitment increased by 224%.
These data also show that in August 2024, the number of requests for military contracts in the Russian Federation increased by 66%. In addition to the lonely protests of soldiers or mothers, public support for invasion of Ukraine has not changed mostly. Even against the background of significant losses. According to the authors of the publication, the initial assumptions of Ukraine and Western allies that high losses will force the Russians to stop the machine of war, were not justified.
The former head of the Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny has recently noted that such losses in any other country would have stopped the war. Denis Volkov, the head of the Levada-Center, said that the reason for the indifference of the Russians to the dead compatriots is explained by the footprint as part of the army. According to statistics, most Russian residents who are sent to the forefront are volunteers or natives of impoverished regions, former convicts.