From The Straits Times · · 2m
Hacked Records Reveal 400,000 Russian War Deaths
Confidential Russian death records show 400,000 soldiers killed in Ukraine war since 2022.
In brief
Confidential Russian death records show 400,000 soldiers killed in Ukraine war since 2022. Hacked Russian military death records indicate 400,000 soldiers killed in Ukraine since 2022. Originally reported by The Straits Times.
Hacked Records Show 400,000 Russian Deaths
Confidential data from Russia’s statistics agency Rosstat reveals about 400,000 Russian military deaths since the 2022 invasion.
“Russia has recorded the deaths of about 400,000 of its people fighting in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion almost five years ago”
Data Source and Method
The information comes from over 11 million death certificates obtained by Belarusian pro-opposition group Cyber Partisans and Ukrainian hacker operation Silent Crow.
“The data was obtained by the Belarusian pro-opposition group Cyber Partisans and the Ukrainian hacker operation Silent Crow”
Timeframe of Records
Between February 24, 2022, and late August 2026, almost 392,700 death certificates explicitly link fatalities to the war.
“Between Feb 24, 2022, and late August 2026, almost 392,700 death certificates in the data explicitly link the fatalities to the war”
Putin’s Avoidance of Acknowledgement
President Vladimir Putin has avoided acknowledging the scale of Russian fatalities in Ukraine since the invasion began.
“President Vladimir Putin has gone to great lengths to avoid acknowledging the scale of Russian fatalities in Ukraine”
Understatement of Total Deaths
The data likely understates the true number due to missing reports, unidentified bodies, and delayed registrations.
“The data set almost certainly understates the total number killed because of the difficulties of recording combat fatalities”
Silent Crow’s Estimate
Silent Crow’s calculations put the figure at about 450,000, including non-combat related fatalities and records without explicit causes.
“Silent Crow’s own calculations put the figure at about 450,000, in part because they also include non-combat related fatalities and records without an explicit cause”
Rosstat’s Response
Rosstat detected targeted cyberattacks but found no evidence of data leaks or confidential information being compromised.
“Rosstat said days later that it had detected targeted cyberattacks on its systems between Oct 29 and Nov 1, but that it found no evidence its databases had been compromised or confidential information leaked”
Ukrainian Casualty Claims
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated at least 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the war with many missing.
“President Volodymyr Zelensky told French media in February that at least 55,000 of his soldiers had been killed in the war and a large number of people are missing”
Kremlin’s Tactical Shift
Russia shifted tactics to heavily bomb Ukrainian cities and infrastructure to break Kyiv’s morale this year.
“With no significant gains on the battlefield this year, Russia has shifted tactics to heavily bombing Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure with the aim of breaking Kyiv’s morale”
Abu Dhabi Ceasefire Talks
Officials from Russia, Ukraine, and the US are set to meet in Abu Dhabi this week to discuss potential ceasefire terms.
“Officials from Russia, Ukraine and the US are due to meet in Abu Dhabi this week to discuss the parameters of a potential ceasefire”
Bloomberg’s Verification
Bloomberg found the leaked data consistent with official Rosstat figures from 2021 to 2023 with minor discrepancies.
“Bloomberg’s review found that the metadata was consistent with a genuine data export, and did not find indicators of fabrication”
Registration Delays
War-related deaths are taking longer to register, with median lag increasing from six weeks in late 2023 to over four months in 2025.
“Since the war started, military deaths are taking longer and longer to register. The median time lag was about six weeks in the second half of 2023 and jumped to more than four months in 2025”
Regional Death Disparities
Remote Siberian regions saw one-third of men aged 18-49 die from war-related causes, while Moscow and St Petersburg saw only one in ten.
“In remote Siberian regions such as the republics of Buryatia, Tuva and Zabaykalsky Krai, which all border Mongolia, about one-third of men aged 18 to 49 who died between the start of the invasion and mid-2024 were recorded as war-related. In Moscow and St Petersburg, it was about one in 10”
The key point
Hacked Russian military death records indicate 400,000 soldiers killed in Ukraine since 2022.
