Russian investigative outlets estimate at least 352,000 Russian soldiers were killed in Ukraine from the start of the full-scale invasion through the end of 2025, according to a joint investigation by Mediazona, Meduza, and BBC Russia published on May 9.

Researchers analyzed named lists of Russian war dead, data from Russia’s Inheritance Registry, and court statistics. For the first time, the count includes not only those whose deaths were registered through civil registry offices — approximately 261,000 — but also those declared dead or missing by court order, adding roughly 90,000 more.

The authors note that the heaviest losses were recorded in 2024 and 2025, when the intensity of fighting increased significantly and Russian courts began issuing mass rulings declaring missing soldiers legally dead. Approximately 86,000 such lawsuits were filed over those two years by military units and relatives.

The surge in court rulings coincided with the appearance in the Inheritance Registry of what researchers call “delayed registrations” — cases where the recorded date of death differs from the date the inheritance case was opened by many months. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, such cases were rare; by the end of 2025, more than 52,000 had been recorded, the investigators said.

Ukraine’s General Staff estimates total Russian losses — killed and wounded — at over 1.34 million. Russian officials have not disclosed casualty figures.

© 2026 The New Voice of Ukraine