How Russia suffered record losses in Ukraine in 2024

Last year the deadliest for Russian troops was in Ukraine since the start of the entire war: at least 45,287 people were killed.

This is almost three times more than in the first year of the invasion and considerably exceeds the losses of 2023, when the longest and deadliest battle of the war took place in Bakhmut.

At the start of the war losing took place in waves during fighting for important locations, but 2024 saw a month to month in the death toll when the front line slowly ran forward, so that we could determine that Russia lost at least 27 lives for every kilometer Ukrainian territory.

The BBC Russian service, in collaboration with Independent Media Outlet Mediazona and a team of volunteers, has processed open source data of Russian cemeteries, military memorials and death messages.

So far we have identified the names of 106,745 Russian soldiers who were killed during the full invasion of Ukraine.

The actual number is clearly much higher. Military experts estimate that our number can cover between 45% and 65% of the deaths, which would mean 164,223 to 237,211 people.

February 20, 2024 was the deadliest day for Russian troops in 2024.

Among the victims were Aldar Bairov, Igor Babych and Okhunjon Rustamov, who were in the 36th motorized rifle brigade when four Ukrainian Himars rockets on long distance hit a field of training in the city of Volnovakha in occupied Donetsk.

They were ordered to list a medal recerior. Sixty -five soldiers were killed, including their commander Col Musaev. Dozens more were injured.

Bairov, 22 and from Buryatia in Oost -Siberia, had studied as a specialist in food supply, but was drawn up for mandatory military service and then signed a contract to become a professional soldier.

In February 2022 he went to fight in Ukraine and was part of the battle for Borodyanka during the rise of his brigade to Kyiv in March 2022. The city was almost completely destroyed. Ukrainian sources say that Russian soldiers were involved in the performance of civilians.

Okhunjon Rustamov, 31 and from Chita in Siberia, had worked as a welder after serving a mandatory term with special forces. He was mobilized during a partial design in October 2022.

In contrast to Rustamov, Igor Babych, 32, had registered to wage war. He had worked with adults and children with the diagnosis of cerebral palsy, so that they helped physiotherapy until April 2023.

In total, Russian soldiers died on that day, according to our data.

A few hours after the strike on the training field, the then Russian Minister of Dussedi Sergei Shoigu Vladimir met him to bring him news about military success of the front line.

No report was made of the training ground attack, nor was there a word from the Ministry of Defense in his daily reports.

A family member of Okhunjon Rustamov said that she had already buried three close relatives in the course of the war. “In December 2022 my husband died. On February 10, 2024, my godfather. And on February 20 my half -brother. From one funeral to the next.”

In our analysis we have given priority to the exact death data for soldiers. If that was not available, we used the date of the funeral or the date on which the death was reported.

In the first two years of the war, 2022 and 2023, Russian losses followed a wave -like pattern: heavy fighting with high victims interspersed with periods of relative calm.

In 2023, for example, most victims took place between January and March, when Russian troops tried to conquer the cities of Vuhledar and Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast.

In the first year of the full invasion, according to our calculations, Russia lost at least 17,890 soldiers. This number does not include losses of the two Proxy troops of Russia in occupied Eastern Ukraine.

In 2023The number rose to 37,633.

In 2024There was no period when a significant fall in the victims showed. Bloody Battles for Avdiivka and Robotyne were followed by intensive attacks to Pokrovsk and Toretsk.

In August 2024, Russian conscripts were killed when Ukrainian troops stormed across the border to the Kursk region. From 6 to 13 August alone, an estimated 1,226 Russian soldiers died.

However, the heaviest general losses took place during a slow Russian advance in the east between September and November 2024, according to the leading American military analyst Michael Kofman.

“Tactics emphasized repeated attacks with scattered attack groups, with the help of small infantry fire teams, which raised the overall victims in relation to the terrain obtained,” he explained.

After almost two years of intense fights, Russian troops grabbed the logistics hub of Vuhledar in Donetsk on October 1, 2024.

According to estimates of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), from September to November 2024, Russian troops captured 2,356 square kilometers of Ukraine.

Even then the Ukrainian troops did not collapse.

The costs of this advance were at least 11,678 Russian military dead.

Actual loss figures are probably higher. We have only taken into account soldiers and officers whose names appeared in publicly available death reports and whose dates of death or funeral fell within this period.

In general in 2024, according to ISW, Russia won 4,168 square kilometers of land. This means that for every square kilometer caught, 27 Russian soldiers were killed, and this does not include the injured.

Russia has found ways to supplement its exhausted forces.

“The Russian recruitment also increased in the second half of 2024 and surpassed the Russian victims, allowing Moscow to generate extra formations,” says Michael Kofman.

One -off payments to soldiers who signed new contracts were raised in three Russian regions. Fight salaries for voluntary soldiers are five to seven times higher than the average wage in most regions.

As volunteers, we also classify those who have registered to prevent criminal prosecution that was legally permitted in 2024.

Volunteers have become the fastest growing category of victims in our calculations, so that a quarter of the one we have identified.

In 2023-2024, thousands of volunteers who signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense were sent to the front line only 10-14 days later. Such a minimal training will have considerably reduced their chances of survival, experts say.

A Russian Republic, Bashkortostan, has seen the highest number of victims, with 4,836 people confirmed. Most came from rural areas and 38% had started fighting without military experience.

The one -off payment for signing a Russian army contract in UFA is 34 times the average salary of the region of 67,575 rubles (£ 600).

Calculating deaths from open source data will always be incomplete.

This is because the bodies of a considerable number of soldiers who have been killed in recent months can still be on the battlefield and raise them a risk for serving soldiers.

The true death toll for Russian troops increases considerably if you have fought those who have fought against Ukraine as part of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk-Volks republics.

A review of death reports and reports from searches to hunters who have lost contact suggests that between 21,000 and 23,500 people possible were killed in September 2024.

That would bring the total number of fatalities to 185,000 to 260,700 military personnel.