An independent Russian media outlet has documented more than 50.000 deaths among Russian military personnel since its all-out invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, and says tens of thousands more are believed to have died.
Mediazona, which tracks Russian war casualties with the BBC based on deaths recorded from open sources, says in its latest update that 50.471 members of the Russian military have died in the war since it began in February 2022.
More than 85.000 members of the Russian army died based on the recorded number of inheritance of fallen soldiers, according to Mediazona.
"We know the names of more than 3.300 officers of the army and other security forces. Of them, 390 have the rank of lieutenant colonel and above," wrote Mediazona.
"The real number of dead was calculated according to the register of probate cases and is current as of March 15, 2024, about 85.000 people."
The paper also said Russia had lost a large number of tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery units in recent weeks, although casualties from those losses were not included in the updated figures.
Russia is losing about 1.200 soldiers a week, according to Mediazona, and most of the victims come from Russia's Krasnodar and Bashkortostan regions.
Ukraine's armed forces estimate that the Russian military has suffered 451.730 casualties in the war, including dead and wounded, while United States and British intelligence agencies say Russian casualties exceed 300.000.
Kiev claims that more than 180.000 Russian soldiers were killed.
Russia rarely provides data on casualties. The last estimate, given seven months after the start of the war, was just under 6.000 people.
Ukraine has announced that it has lost 31.000 soldiers since the start of the war.
Bonus video:
