Russia lost over 10,000 soldiers in war in Ukraine over past 6 months, media says.

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The Russian army lost at least 10,014 personnel in the war in Ukraine over the past six months, according to joint research by BBC Russia and the Russian outlet Mediazona, published on July 12. The study identified over 10,000 Russian troops who were killed over the past half-year. In total, the names of 59,168 killed Russian soldiers have been identified.  

The research was conducted using open sources, including obituaries published in the media and social networks and photos of graves and military monuments. The real number of dead may be significantly higher, BBC Russia said. Former prisoners recruited for the war remain the largest category of casualties, accounting for 20% of all reported losses.

Meanwhile, 14% of those killed were volunteers, and 12% were mobilized and had contracts with the Russian Armed Forces. Russia has lost 3,725 officers at the front since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022. The Economist reported on July 5, citing leaked documents from the U.S.

Defense Department, that between 462,000 and 728,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, injured, or captured in the invasion of Ukraine by mid-June. These numbers exceed the number of Russian troops who were preparing for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to The Economist. Ukraine's General Staff estimates that the Russian military's personnel losses surpassed 500,000 in late May.

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