As of the morning of 26 August, at least 18,237 people from the Volga Federal District regions have died.
During the period 19-25 August, Idel.Realii managed to establish the names of 303 soldiers from 15 regions of the Volga region who died in the war in Ukraine. Thus, as of the morning of 26 August, at least 18,237 people from these Russian regions had died.
The largest number of identified names belong to Bashkortostan residents — 64 people. It is followed by Perm Krai — 40, then Tatarstan with 29 dead. Kirov Oblast and Udmurtia lost 25 each, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara — 20 each, Saratov Oblast — 18 residents. 16 of the dead lived in Orenburg Oblast, and 11 — in Mari El; the list of the dead was also replenished with ten names of Astrakhan residents, eight — of Penza residents, and the same number of residents of Ulyanovsk Oblast. The war claimed the lives of seven soldiers from Chuvashia and two from Mordovia.
Bashkortostan continues to lead in the number of fatalities — the war has claimed the lives of at least 2,748 soldiers from the republic. Next on the list is Tatarstan with 2,331 and Perm Krai with 2,051 names. The lowest losses among the Volga regions to date have been suffered by Penza Oblast (430) and Mordovia (289).
As of 23 August 2024, Mediazona journalists, together with colleagues from the BBC Russian Service and a team of volunteers, have identified the names of 65,522 Russians who died in the war.
In a report from 23 August, the BBC notes that in the last ten months, there has been a sharp increase in the deaths of volunteers. Journalists include those who signed a contract with the Ministry of Defenсe or the Russian National Guard after the war began. Since October 2023, weekly losses of volunteers have not fallen below 100 people per week.
Journalists claim that this list does not reflect the real level of losses, but is based solely on public reports of deaths. In joint research with Meduza, data from the Register of Inheritance Cases (RND) and Rosstat statistics are also used.
- Russia’s losses in the year-long war with Ukraine exceeded the losses of the USSR and Russia in all wars since World War II combined. Moscow and Kyiv, as a rule, do not publicly disclose their losses in the war in Ukraine, talking mainly about the enemy’s losses. Parties to military conflicts tend to exaggerate their successes and downplay their failures. Journalists’ research is one of the most important independent estimates of casualties.
- The Russian Defenсe Ministry last reported losses on the day mobilization began — 21 September 2022. According to the head of the department at that time, Sergei Shoigu, losses amounted to 5,937 people.
- “Idel.Realii” keeps its own count of the dead soldiers and volunteers. This list includes only those whose deaths have been acknowledged in one way or another by the Russian side, relatives of the dead, or educational or other public institutions. The real figures may be significantly higher.
