Hidden Deaths Revealed: Over 50,000 Russian Men Killed in Ukraine War, Independent Analysis Shows

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Title: Independent Analysis Reveals Nearly 50,000 Russian Men Killed in Ukrainian War

Subtitle: Investigative Effort Shines Light on the Hidden Cost of Russia’s Invasion

Date: [Today’s Date]

Byline: [Author’s Name]

Brussels – In a groundbreaking development, independent Russian outlets Mediazona and Meduza, in collaboration with a data scientist from the German University of Tübingen, have conducted the first statistical analysis of Russia’s war dead in Ukraine, revealing that nearly 50,000 Russian men have lost their lives in the conflict.

Using a statistical concept known as excess mortality, popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic, the research team utilized Russian government data, inheritance records, and official mortality data to estimate the number of men under the age of 50 who died between February 2022 and May 2023 above the normal rate of mortality.

The investigation faced numerous challenges, as neither Moscow nor Kyiv provides updated data on military casualties, with both sides actively amplifying the figures of the other. Russia has officially acknowledged the deaths of just over 6,000 soldiers, but reports of military casualties remain contentious and often concealed by the Russian government.

The documentation of such deaths has become an act of defiance, with individuals involved in the process facing harassment and potential criminal charges. Nevertheless, Mediazona, the BBC Russian Service, and a network of volunteers gathered social media posts and photographs from various parts of Russia to create a database of confirmed war deaths, which has identified 27,423 Russian soldiers killed as of July 7.

To obtain a more comprehensive count, the investigative teams accessed records of inheritance processes filed with the Russian authorities. These records, obtained from the National Authentication Registry, comprised information on over 11 million people who died between 2014 and May 2023.

Analysis of these records revealed a significant increase in the number of inheritance processes opened for men between the ages of 15 and 49 in 2022. By May 27, 2023, this number had risen sharply to 47,000, correspondingly aligning with the White House’s estimate of over 20,000 Russian deaths in Ukraine since December.

Amid differing intelligence estimates, the British Defense Ministry suggested that between 40,000 and 60,000 Russians had likely been killed in the war, while a leaked estimate from the US Defense Intelligence Agency placed the figure between 35,000 and 43,000 Russian deaths in the first year of the conflict.

Acknowledging the uncertainties surrounding the data, the researchers emphasized that the final tally is generally plausible, although it does not include missing Russians who are not officially recognized as dead, as well as Ukrainian citizens fighting in self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics.

The Russian Defense Ministry has yet to comment on the findings. It is worth noting that both Mediazona and Meduza have faced numerous challenges from the authorities, with both outlets being designated “foreign agents” by the Russian government.

As the investigation sheds much-needed light on the true human cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, questions arise regarding the potential impact on combat medical care in border areas near Ukraine and the need for better first aid services on the front lines to prevent further casualties and amputations.

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