Of
Marta Serafini
The BBC’s reconstruction examines the last 10 months of conflict. But Moscow compensated for its losses even without mobilization
In war the first information to be hidden is the number of military losses and neither Kiev nor Moscow officially communicate the number of dead soldiers. But for the first time this year, the press in Ukraine was given access to the places where bodies were collected and identified, a rare occasion in a theater of conflict. To account for the losses on the Russian front, however, one must overcome a thick blanket of censorship.
Among the most complete sources is the database created by Mediate. According to an analysis of Bbcbased on these numbers, Over the past 10 months, Russian losses in the war against Ukraine have risen faster than at any time since the invasion began in 2022.. As peace efforts intensify in 2025 under pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration, 40% more soldier obituaries were published in Russian sources compared to the previous year. Overall, Bbc e Mediazona they have confirmed the names of almost 160 thousand people killed in fighting in Ukraine on Moscow’s side.
This figure obviously represents only a small share of the total number of casualties, perhaps 45-65% of the total. That is would bring the number of Russian deaths to between 243,000 and 352,000. For NATO the toll is 1.1 million dead and wounded, with an estimate of casualties of around 250 thousand while Secretary Mark Rutte speaks of 25,000 Russian soldiers killed every month.
It is difficult to attribute the increase in Russian losses to a single factor but The Kremlin sees territorial gains as a way to influence negotiations with the United States in its favor. Looking at the obituaries, 2025 starts with a relatively low number of obituaries. Then they increase in February, when Trump and Putin speak directly to each other for the first time. The next peak, in August, coincides with the two meeting in Alaska. In November, when the United States presents a 28-point peace proposal, an average of 322 obituaries are published per day, double the 2024 average.
If we analyze the type of losses we discover that a year ago 15% of those killed were voluntary, but in 2025 the percentage has risen to one in three. This means that the Kremlin was able to compensate for the heavy losses by avoiding the politically risky move of a mobilization mandatory on a large scale.
According to the deputy head of the National Security Council, former President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, by October more than 30,000 people were enlisted per month. All lives that Moscow can afford to send to die without any particular problems. And without anyone telling you about it.
December 31, 2025
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