22% of those identified as dead signed contracts after the start of the full-scale invasion, and 52% had no connection with the service before.
The BBC Russian Service, Mediazona, and volunteers have identified 80,973 Russian soldiers killed during the full-scale war against Ukraine. Many died in the first weeks after being sent to the front.
About 22% of those killed are those who signed contracts after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, that is, they are volunteers. A year ago, the share of such dead was 14%.
The number of ex-prisoners killed this year, on the contrary, has decreased. Now they are 18%, and a year ago – 26%.
Among the regions, the leaders in the number of deaths are Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and the Sverdlovsk region. There are several colonies in it, as well as many enterprises from which it is easy to mobilize.
“Tatarstan is among the top three regions with the highest number of confirmed losses in 2024. And this is primarily due to the active work of local volunteers collecting data,” the publication says.
Therefore, the data on losses in this region (3,320) may be very close to the real number.
The leader is Bashkortostan, where, according to journalists and volunteers, 3,266 people died.
In terms of population, Tiva, Buryatia and Altai lost the most. The capital and St. Petersburg lost the least.
At least 52% of the dead are people who were not associated with the army before the full-scale war.
