[Discussion] Grim Toll: Shocking Soldier Losses Unveiled in Ukraine-Russia Conflict

[Uncrowned Guard]

Immense Casualties In Ukraine-Russia War, according to The Economist

The Economist, based on its estimates published on November 26, has put forth that between 60,000 to 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives in the overarching conflict. Up to 400,000 additional soldiers are reportedly too wounded to partake in further combat.

Warfare Impact and Calculations

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been rather discreet about the nation's military casualties, with acknowledgments as of February noting the loss of about 31,000 Ukrainian fighters. However, The Economist's numerics are based on a compilation of data; intelligence reports (both leaked and published), inputs from defense officials and researchers, as well as open-source intelligence.

According to the data, the catastrophic war has caused Russia and Ukraine to lose a larger proportion of their population as compared to the United States during the combined years of the Korean and Vietnam wars. A striking revelation from The Economist reports, that almost one in 20 men of fighting age in Ukraine have been killed or injured due to the war.

Comparative Estimates and Casualty Concealment

Comparable casualty approximations were also made by the Wall Street Journal in September. The publication projected a loss of 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers, with 400,000 injuries. The Russian side was estimated to bear up to 200,000 deaths and 400,000 injuries.

The precise numbers, however, remain hard to establish, given the secretive stature maintained by both Kyiv and Moscow on the topic of military casualties. Up until September 2022, Russian authorities have only made public a casualty count of 5,937 soldiers.

In contrast, as per the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russia's overall losses exceeded 735,000, as of November 27. Consequently, Russia's casualty count from the full-scale war is reckoned to be greater than all other wars it has participated in since 1945.

Civilian Casualties: The Unaccounted Victims

The Economist asserts that estimating civilian casualties is an even more challenging endeavor, with the possible numbers being in the tens of thousands. The U.N. mission based in Ukraine has confirmed the loss of 11,743 civilians until this past summer.

However, these figures may not capture the full range of the civilian toll, considering the obstacles set by Russia in permitting monitors to access occupied territories. Of these, areas like Mariupol, which presumably saw the heaviest civilian casualties, are particularly of interest.

View full article