Leaked records originating from Rosstat, the Russian state statistics agency, indicate that at least 450,000 Russians, primarily soldiers, have died in the war in Ukraine as of August this year. While Moscow maintains a policy of not officially publishing its military death toll, this data offers a rare window into the scale of losses. The files themselves, which were obtained by the Belarusian hacking group Cyber Partisans and the Ukrainian organization Silent Crow, detail approximately 410,000 deaths directly linked to the conflict, alongside 42,000 fatalities of military-age men that were confirmed through court proceedings because their remains were never recovered. However, in a later post he added: “The trickier question is: Was the data manipulated to increase the war death toll?” before adding, “This would [be] unbelievably difficult, so this is a highly unlikely conspiracy theory”. A death toll far beyond anything Moscow has admitted so far. Moscow denies coercing anyone to fight in Ukraine.
Analysis conducted for The Financial Times suggests that when accounting for delayed bureaucratic registration, the actual death toll by August likely reaches approximately 550,000. The toll up to August will settle at about 550,000, investigations for The Financial Times (FT) have concluded that once late paperwork is counted.
Rosstat acknowledged experiencing cyberattacks between October 29 and November 1, though the agency claimed it found no evidence of compromised databases or leaked sensitive information. However, media outlets and analysts say they believe it is real.
Despite this, experts consider the information authentic.
Janis Kluge, a specialist in Russian affairs at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, noted that the database is genuine enough to verify the deaths of known public figures, adding that suggestions of data manipulation to inflate casualty figures would be highly improbable.
The impact of the war is geographically and demographically uneven. Statistical evidence indicates the average age of those killed increased from 34 in the conflict’s first year to 40 by 2025. Men aged 35 to 44 comprise the largest demographic among the deceased, totaling 158,000 lives lost. Furthermore, regions with significant minority populations have faced a disproportionate burden. For instance, Zabaykalsky Krai—a region with a large Buryat community—recorded 12,300 deaths, equating to approximately one fatality for every 80 residents, while Bashkortostan reported 15,800 deaths.
The intensity of the fighting is reflected in the death locations. Approximately 120,000 recorded fatalities occurred in the vicinity of Avdiivka and Pokrovsk, two industrial cities in the Donetsk region that were the focus of prolonged, destructive combat. Bakhmut, the site of the war’s longest and deadliest infantry battle, accounted for an additional 48,000 deaths before its capture by Russian and Wagner Group forces in May 2023. These locations served as critical points along the shifting front lines since the initial conflict began in 2014 and escalated with the full-scale invasion in 2022. It became part of the so-called “contact line”, and Ukrainian forces spent years fortifying the city, after Russian-backed forces seized parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015. It was the subject of two years of bitter fighting before Russia took it in 2024, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. After the fall of Avdiivka, Russian forces moved towards the coal-mining city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, capturing it in early 2026 after more than a year of gruelling battles that had left the city in ruins. Ethnic Russians constitute more than two-thirds of Russia’s population of 143 million. The rest are minorities – from millions of ethnic Ukrainians and Tatars to smaller Indigenous groups in Siberia and the Arctic. And those of Colombians, Kenyans and Nigerians from late 2025, Bloomberg reported, deaths of Nepalis were concentrated in 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, Ukrainian officials believe Russia deployed some 14,000 North Korean troops to hold off Ukraine’s 2024 incursion into the Kursk region, but they do not appear in the leaked data.
Foreign citizens are also significantly represented in the casualty figures. According to estimates, more than 4,000 foreign nationals have died fighting for Russian forces, hailing from countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Nepal, Colombia, and Nigeria. Bloomberg News, utilizing broader criteria for foreign-born recruits, estimated the toll as high as 11,335. The Financial Times noted that Uzbekistan accounts for the highest recorded number of foreign deaths at 807, followed by Tajikistan with 598. Africa is also heavily represented, with around 340 African nationals among the deceased, particularly from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Egypt. The FT identified 4,141 probable foreign soldiers holding foreign citizenship among the dead. Using a wider definition that includes people born outside Russia, counted 11,335, with foreign deaths rising from about 630 in 2022 to more than 5,500 in 2025, bloomberg News. The highest toll from Latin America, there were also 44 Nepali dead and 98 Colombians. Nigeria, Cameroon and Egypt had the highest tolls, with 127 deaths between them, according to the FT. Human rights activists and journalists, the rights group spoke with foreign nationals currently serving with Russian forces and members of their families as well as lawyers. According to nationals from 36 African countries are known to be fighting for Russia in the four-year war, Ukraine’s foreign minister, In November last year. In Kenya, where intelligence officials say more than 1,000 citizens have been recruited, agencies promised monthly wages of about $2,715 and bonuses of up to $9,309.
Reports suggest many foreign recruits are drawn by the promise of financial gain, often through deceptive recruitment tactics.
While an estimated 28,000 foreigners from 136 countries are thought to be fighting for Russia, evidence from organizations like Amnesty International indicates that many individuals—particularly from Colombia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and South Africa—were promised civilian employment before being coerced into military service upon arrival.
One account involved a South African man who traveled for a trucking job in Poland only to have his documents confiscated in Moscow and be forced into the army. He was told that he would not be going to Poland and that he is becoming a soldier.”.
Despite these numbers, Kluge noted that because the total deaths represent roughly half a percent of Russia’s working-age population, the primary impact remains political rather than purely economic, concluding that such a sustained loss of life undermines any narrative of victory. And sometimes years, to be registered, in Russia, deaths can take months.
