Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one year ago has led to the deaths of thousands of soldiers and Ukrainian civilians — as well as radically reshaped Russia’s social, political and economic fabric.
The Moscow Times has produced a series of graphs to illustrate the changes that have taken place over the past year
Reports of heavy Russian troop losses were seen on the first day of the invasion, when up to 190,000 soldiers crossed onto Ukrainian soil from three directions in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 24, and remained high throughout the ensuing months.
Later strategic adjustments — such as President Vladimir Putin’s “partial” draft and Kremlin-linked tycoon Yevgeny Prigozhin’s recruitment of prisoners into the Wagner mercenary company — are thought to have provided a slight boost to Russia’s manpower.
But in the year since Russia launched what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, Western officials estimate that as many as 180,000 Russian — and 100,000 Ukrainian — troops may have been killed or wounded.
Ukraine places Russia’s battlefield losses at 144,270 as of Feb. 20, 2023, while Russia’s own figure of under 6,000 confirmed deaths has remained unchanged since September.
With each side careful to play down their own losses while playing up the enemy’s, independent Russian media started tallying the numbers based on graveyard sightings, obituaries and public announcements across Russia’s regions.
Their figure currently stands at 14,709 confirmed Russian military fatalities in Ukraine as of Feb. 17.
