An expert highlights the unprecedented troop losses suffered by Russia during the ongoing war in Ukraine, estimating casualties to be as high as 1.2 million soldiers.
According to a recent assessment by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), nearly 1.2 million Russian soldiers have died, been injured, or gone missing over nearly four years in the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine. The estimate suggests that between 275,000 and 325,000 of these losses are fatalities. Additionally, independent Russian media outlet Mediazona reports approximately 177,500 deaths among Russian forces.
Ilmari Käihkö, a university researcher from the University of Helsinki, comments on the staggering scale of these troop losses. He compares the numbers to the Soviet Union's losses in the decade-long war in Afghanistan, which were between 600,000 and 700,000. Käihkö emphasizes that these figures indicate an intense state-to-state conflict, a scenario Europe has not witnessed since the Cold War.
Despite these staggering figures, Käihkö warns about the need for critical evaluation of the casualty estimates as there is uncertainty regarding their origins. Ukrainian military authorities provide their own statistics, but the lack of transparency raises questions about the accuracy of the claims from both sides. Each assessment thus invites scrutiny and a cautious approach in interpreting the impact of such losses in the context of the ongoing conflict.
