KYIV - Russian independent media outlet Mediazona, in collaboration with the BBC Russian service, has confirmed the identities of 282,993 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the project's latest update. The count covers confirmed military deaths from February 24, 2022 - the start of Russia's full-scale invasion - through October 23, 2026.

Source: Kyiv Independent via EuropeSays, Oct 25

Since Mediazona last updated the figures in early October, the names of 6,880 Russian soldiers were added to the list of those killed. The journalists' total is based on publicly available information only, including obituaries, social media posts by relatives, regional news reports and statements from local authorities - and they caution that the actual figures are likely significantly higher, because many deaths are never publicly recorded.

Source: EA WorldView Ukraine war coverage, Oct 25

282,993Russian military personnel confirmed killed by name, Feb 24, 2022 - Oct 23, 2026 (Mediazona / BBC Russian)
6,880Names added since the project's early-October update
7,920Officers among the confirmed dead, independently verified as of Oct 23
~1.4 millionEstimated total Russian casualties (killed and wounded) since 2022, on a July 2026 CSIS estimate - a different, wider measure than confirmed deaths

As of October 23, the deaths of 7,920 officers serving in the Russian military and other security services had been independently verified. Officers have accounted for a shrinking share of confirmed Russian deaths since the start of the invasion, Mediazona found: in the initial phase, when Russia relied heavily on professional contract troops, officers represented as much as 10% of those killed, but by November 2024 their share had fallen to just 2-3%. The journalists link the shift to changes in battlefield tactics and Russia's growing reliance on recruited volunteer infantry, who face a substantially higher risk of being killed than their commanding officers.

Source: Kyiv Independent via EuropeSays, Oct 25

What is solid

  • Mediazona and BBC Russian have confirmed 282,993 named Russian military deaths in Ukraine through Oct 23, 2026, using only publicly available evidence (project update, reported by Kyiv Independent and EA WorldView)
  • 6,880 names were added since early October, and 7,920 of the confirmed dead are officers
  • The project's own journalists say the real toll is likely significantly higher than the named count

What is only claimed

  • The Kyiv Independent said it could not immediately verify the reporting independently
  • Wider estimates differ sharply from the named count and measure different things: CSIS estimated in July 2026 about 1.4 million Russian casualties - killed AND wounded - against 525,000-625,000 for Ukraine; casualty totals are not death tolls and must not be compared directly with the 282,993 confirmed deaths

A name-by-name count, not an official toll

The Mediazona-BBC project is not an official figure from either government: it is a name-by-name ledger built by journalists and volunteers from open sources, which is why its authors present it as a floor rather than a total. Neither Russia nor Ukraine officially publishes a full count of its own military dead, and every public estimate - Ukrainian, Western or independent - rests on different methods. What the updated ledger does establish, on its own stated evidence, is the scale of publicly documented Russian losses nearly five years into the war, and how fast the documented list is still growing.

Source: Mediazona / BBC Russian project, via Kyiv Independent, Oct 25