18 months of war and experts disagree on how many Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine

Russia's “special military operations” in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. Since then, the Kyiv government has been keeping a toll of Russian fatalities throughout the conflict.

However, experts disagree exactly how many people have died on either side of the conflict.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has been sharing the daily death toll of Russian troops. With the use of impressive graphics and comparisons (such as football fields), they are very effective at putting the horrors of war into simple terms.

Twitter: Defence of Ukraine - @DefenceU

So, how many Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine? The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has confirmed over 240,500 casualties as of July 23, 2023.

Meanwhile, Russian data has been opaque, to say the least. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared in September 2023 about 6,000 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine, according to Reuters. It's hard to find anything more recent than that.

According to the NPR, Russian independent news outlets Meduza and Mediazona place the death toll much lower: 47,000 fallen soldiers by July 2023.

Meanwhile, US high-ranking military officials have stated that the death toll at the end of 2022 was roughly over 100,000 for Russians and the same number for Ukrainians.

General Eirik Kristoffersen, Norway's Chief of Defense, told Radio France International in late January that his government estimated 180,000 losses for the Russian army and 100,000 for Ukrainian forces, plus 30,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine.

Pictured: Kristoffersen in the Oslo Pride Parade in 2021.

In any case, local authorities in Ukraine not only share a death toll that they update every day, but they also report the damage inflicted on Russian armament and military equipment.

Twitter: Defence of Ukraine - @DefenceU

For instance, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence reported that the Russian military had lost 4133 tanks, 8080 armored vehicles, 315 military jets, and 18 warships and boats, after a year and a half of fighting.

Much of the damaged military equipment seized from the enemy has been put on display throughout Ukraine to boost the local population's morale.

18 months after the start of the war, the numbers of those affected by the war continue to add up with no end in sight.

Billions of US dollars, Euros, and Rubles invested in military equipment now lie destroyed in the field. Who knows how much longer it can go on?

However, it's important to remember that when talking about official numbers given by local authorities in the middle of a conflict, they are not free from bias. Ukraine's Minister of Defense also reveals the human suffering of war.

“Since February 24, at least 140,000 residential buildings have been destroyed or damaged. The number of Ukrainians left homeless already exceeds 3.5 million”, Ukraine's Minister of Defence posted on Twitter back in the summer of 2022 and numbers have only gone up since then.

“In 5 months of the large-scale war, over 830 Ukrainian health care facilities were affected by Russian terror”, the Defence Ministry tweeted. “More than 500 pharmacies have been destroyed/damaged, around 200 ambulances have been damaged; at least 18 doctors killed and 43 injured”.

To highlight the atrocities of war, the Ministry of Defense shared images of Russian attacks on social media with the tag #russiaisaterroriststate.

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky requested, through the Defence Ministry, to end the war as soon as possible. He requested the aid of the Ukrainian people to obtain peace.

“Time is priceless and every day is measured in human lives. The more people join us in defending freedom and truth, the sooner Russia’s war against Ukraine will end. Prove that freedom always wins!”, declared Volodymyr Zelensky.