At least 352,000 Russian soldiers have died fighting Ukraine: report

By the end of 2025, at least 352,000 Russian soldiers had died in the war against Ukraine, a new investigation has found .

The death tally was compiled by two exiled Russian publications, Mediazona and Meduza, and released on May 9 to coincide with Russia’s national holiday marking victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

The figure was arrived at using a database Mediazona maintains with the BBC Russian Service, which draws on publicly reported deaths, including local reports, notices and social media posts by relatives. The list now contains 261,000 names of Russian soldiers confirmed dead.

Mediazona and Meduza extrapolated another 90,000 names by estimating excess deaths in Russian probate records and those missing or declared dead by court order. It takes time for a missing person to be declared officially dead, so the figure is likely higher, the outlets note.

• Moscow's Victory Day parade draws muted response from Russians

Russian forces have suffered nearly 1.2 million casualties since the war began in February 2022, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think-tank based in Washington, D.C., said in January . Its analysis found that 325,000 Russian soldiers and 140,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed as of 2025, making it the deadliest conflict since the Second World War.

Although Russia has managed to control nearly one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, gains along the 1,200 km-long front line have slowed to a crawl, with Moscow gaining less than 1.5 per cent since 2024, CSIS found.

The slowdown continued this spring, with Ukraine’s counter-offensives resulting in a net loss of territory in April, The Economist reported this week. Russia is losing 35,000 soldiers a month, exceeding its rate of recruitment, the magazine added.

Ukraine’s advancing drone capabilities have allowed a “mid-range strike campaign against Russian logistics, military equipment, and manpower since early 2026,” the Institute of Study of War reported last week . The think tank added: “Ukrainian forces have intentionally exacerbated other Russian vulnerabilities over the last year, including through the February 2026 block on Russia’s use of Starlink terminals in Ukraine and through Ukraine’s operational long-range strike campaign against Russian military and oil infrastructure deep in the Russian rear, which significantly disrupted Russian communications on the frontline and drone operations as well as Russia’s oil and gas profits.”

On May 8, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a U.S.-backed three-day ceasefire, which both countries soon accused the other of violating. Russia’s defence ministry accused Kyiv of more than 23,000 ceasefire violations, while Russian drone strikes in areas along the front line resulted in three deaths, Ukrainian officials have said. Those violations have jeopardized an agreement to swap 1,000 prisoners and put negotiations on hold.

However, speaking to reporters following a muted Victory Day parade on May 9, Putin hinted that he expected the war to end soon, saying the matter of the Ukrainian conflict “was coming to an end.” The comment was a rare departure from his usual position, which has been that Russia’s “special military operation” would continue until all its demands are met.

The comment was at odds with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said peace was still a “very long way” out, Reuters reported . Russia has previously stated a complete demilitarization of Ukraine and acquiring eastern Donbas as pre-conditions to ending the war.

Rustem Umerov, Kyiv’s top negotiator, has said he met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are charged with leading negotiations, to “coordinate further steps,” the news agency reported.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said over the weekend that he expects Witkoff and Kushner to visit Moscow “soon enough,” according to the news agency Interfax.

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