Leaked Russian death records expose scale of Ukraine war losses

Overview

Updated 3 hours ago

A hacked database from Rosstat, Russia's state statistics agency, lists more than 450,000 deaths tied to the war in Ukraine through August 28. The records are the first official-style accounting of Russian war deaths to become public.

Two hacking groups, Cyber Partisans BY and Silent Crow, stole the files and shared them with news organizations. Analysts including Janis Kluge cross-checked names against court records and found no sign of fabrication. The count excludes missing soldiers, and late paperwork could push the eventual toll higher.

Why it matters

The leaked records give the clearest public count of Russia's war dead and suggest losses now outpace recruitment.

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Key Indicators

450,000+

War-related deaths in leaked Rosstat records

Recorded through August 28, 2026, excluding missing soldiers and pending paperwork.

356,056

Deaths coded as combat operations

Rosstat code Y36 covers deaths in combat operations.

285,881

Deaths identified by BBC and Mediazona

The open-source count before the Rosstat leak.

550,000

Financial Times projected eventual toll

Projection accounts for late death registrations.

4,141

Probable foreign soldiers among the dead

Financial Times count of foreign citizens in the leaked records.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ayn Rand

(1905-1982) · Cold War · philosophy

Fictional AI pastiche — not real quote.

"Every digit in that number is a man who was told his life belonged to the collective—and the only honest men in this story are the rebels who stole the ledger of his sacrifice. When a state must hide its death count, it confesses that it never counted the value of a single life. The truth, like every value, had to be seized by individual courage."

People Involved

Janis Kluge

Russia analyst at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs

Verified the leaked Rosstat database as authentic

Vladimir Putin

President of Russia

Has not published an official military death toll

Organizations Involved

Rosstat (Federal State Statistics Service)

Russian federal agency

Source of the leaked death records

Rosstat maintains Russia's civil registry and official statistics, including death certificates.

Cyber Partisans BY

Belarusian opposition-linked hacking group

Claims breach of Rosstat

The group targets Russian and Belarusian state networks and shared the Rosstat files with news organizations.

Silent Crow

Hacking group

Claims breach of Rosstat

The pro-Ukraine group focuses on Russian networks and co-claimed the Rosstat leak.

Financial Times

News organization

Analyzed the leaked records

The Financial Times reported on the leaked data and projected the eventual toll could reach about 550,000.

Mediazona

Russian independent news outlet

Tracks Russian military deaths with BBC

Mediazona and the BBC have compiled open-source lists of Russian combat deaths since 2022.

Institute for the Study of War

Research Organization

Analyzed the casualty data

The Institute for the Study of War said the leaked figures likely understate Russia's losses.

Timeline

February 2022 November 2026

9 events Latest: Today

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
Al Jazeera publishes analysis
Today Report

FT projects eventual toll of about 550,000.
Today
EL PAÍS verifies database
Report

EL PAÍS and other outlets verify the leaked records.
Yesterday
Guardian reports 400,000 deaths
Report

Leaked records suggest more than 400,000 Russians killed.
5 days ago
Moscow Times reports 450,000 deaths
Report

Leaked data shows more than 450,000 war-related deaths.
6 days ago
Hackers announce Rosstat breach
Cyberattack

Cyber Partisans BY and Silent Crow claim the breach.
November 1st, 2026
October 2026
Cyberattack hits Rosstat
Cyberattack

Hackers breach Rosstat networks, later leaking death records.
October 29th, 2026
February 2024
Avdiivka falls
Battle

Russia captures Avdiivka after two years of fighting.
February 2024
May 2023
Bakhmut falls
Battle

Russia captures Bakhmut after the war's longest infantry battle.
May 2023
February 2022
Russia launches full-scale invasion
War

Russian forces attack Ukraine from multiple directions.
February 24th, 2022

Scenarios

Russia announces a new mobilization wave

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Institute for the Study of War and military analysts

If casualties continue to outpace recruitment, the Kremlin could order a new partial or full mobilization to replace losses. The leaked data gives analysts a clearer baseline for judging when manpower pressure becomes acute.

Kremlin keeps official death toll classified

Likely Resolves by Nov 14, 2027

Discussed by: EL PAÍS, Moscow Times and Al Jazeera

Russia has not published military death figures since the invasion began. The leak gives the Kremlin no incentive to release an official count, and the government may continue to dismiss the data as fabricated.

Independent estimates pass 550,000

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Financial Times and Mediazona

The leaked records exclude missing soldiers and pending paperwork. If the Financial Times is right that late registrations add roughly 100,000 deaths, independent monitors could revise their estimates above 550,000 within months.

Forensic review finds records were manipulated

Unlikely Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Janis Kluge and independent analysts

Kluge and other analysts say the data appears authentic, but they have not ruled out manipulation. A forensic review could find that the records were altered to inflate the toll, which would undermine the leak's credibility and the estimates built on it.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 1979-February 1989

Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989)

The Soviet Union fought Afghan mujahideen for nearly a decade. Moscow reported 15,051 Soviet soldiers killed, a figure that independent analysts long disputed.

Then

The Soviet Union withdrew in 1989 after failing to stabilize Afghanistan.

Now

The war became a benchmark for Soviet casualty concealment and for comparing later Russian conflicts.

Why this matters now

The current leak gives Russia's Ukraine war a documented toll far above its official Afghan losses, and it shows how Moscow has handled casualty data before.

September 1939-September 1945

World War II (1939-1945)

The United States suffered around 405,000 military deaths in World War II. That figure has long served as a reference point for the scale of American wartime sacrifice.

Then

The war ended with Allied victory and a new international order.

Now

The 405,000 figure remains a standard comparison for wartime casualties.

Why this matters now

Russia's leaked toll of more than 450,000 in Ukraine exceeds the U.S. military death count in World War II.

1994-1996 and 1999-2009

Chechen Wars (1994-2009)

Russia fought two wars in Chechnya. Official sources reported about 10,000 Russian troops killed, while the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers put the figure at up to 25,000.

Then

Russia installed a loyal government in Chechnya after years of fighting.

Now

The gap between official and independent casualty counts became a recurring feature of Russian war reporting.

Why this matters now

The Rosstat leak repeats that pattern on a much larger scale, with official records providing a toll far above what Moscow has publicly acknowledged.