Research by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) based in Washington showed that the number of killed, wounded, or missing Russian and Ukrainian soldiers from the beginning of the war until this spring could reach a total of two million, writes the British newspaper Guardian.
The analytical center estimates that Russia has suffered losses of about 1.2 million soldiers with 325,000 killed, while on the Ukrainian side, 600,000 soldiers have been killed, wounded, or went missing.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, neither side has publicly released comprehensive data on losses, and both treat them as a strictly guarded state secret.
The Kremlin today rejected the CSIS report as unreliable, insisting that only the Ministry of Defense has the authority to publish data on Russian casualties.
The CSIS estimates are based on conversations with Western and Ukrainian officials, and data from the independent Russian media outlet Mediazona and the Russian service of the BBC.
The analytical center states that Russian losses in Ukraine so far are “more than 17 times greater than Soviet losses in Afghanistan during the 1980s, 11 times greater than during Russia’s first and second Chechen wars, and more than five times greater than all Russian and Soviet wars combined after World War II.”
It is estimated that the ratio of Russian and Ukrainian losses is about 2.5 to one, or two to one, according to the CSIS report.
The numbers present a grim picture for Ukraine as well, whose population and capacity to endure long-term losses and mobilize troops – are smaller than Russia’s.
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Source: N1; Photo: AP (Kostiantyn Liberov)