More than twice as many Russian troops as Ukrainians have been killed in Putin's war#news
Channel: YoutubeNews
Date: 2023-04-11

More than twice as many Russian troops as Ukrainians have been killed in Putin's war, leaked estimates show

Leaked estimates show more than twice as many Russians and Ukrainians have been killed in the war.

Up to 43,000 Russians and 17,500 Ukrainians may have died on the battlefield, US intel reveals.

The figures were included in a leak of highly sensitive Pentagon documents now being investigated.

Leaked US intelligence documents reveal that more than twice as many Russian soldiers as Ukrainian soldiers have been killed while fighting in Ukraine.

The documents, which were recently leaked on social media and are currently the focus of a federal investigation, offer estimates for Russian and Ukrainian casualties. US officials have described the information included in the leak — which appear to provide detailed assessments on the Ukraine war — as highly sensitive and classified.

One document in particular suggests that Russia has suffered between 189,500 and 223,000 casualties, including between 35,500 and 43,000 soldiers killed in action and between 154,000 and 180,000 troops wounded.

Ukraine, by contrast, has suffered between 124,500 and 131,000 casualties, including between 15,500 and 17,500 soldiers killed in action and between 109,000 and 113,500 troops wounded.

Both the lower and upper estimates of each military's war dead pegs Russian deaths at more than two times that of Ukraine. Insider was not able to independently verify these figures, and it is unclear when, exactly, the leaked data was compiled, though many of the documents are from late February and early March.


The upper boundary of Russia's death toll — 43,000 — is a slightly lower figure than what other officials and experts have estimated in recent weeks.

Britain's defense ministry said in a February intelligence update that between 40,000 and 60,000 Russian-linked forces — which includes Moscow's regular military and mercenaries from the Wagner Group paramilitary organization — have likely been killed. The Center for Strategic & International Studies, meanwhile, assessed that same month that between 60,000 and 70,000 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine.

As for total casualties, Britain's defense ministry said in February that Russia likely suffered up to 200,000. And Victoria Nuland, a top US diplomat and the under secretary of state for political affairs, said at the time that over 200,000 Russians have been killed or wounded during the war. 

Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian embassy in Washington, DC immediately responded to Insider's request for comment on the casualty findings contained in the leaked documents.
The trove of leaked documents, which became public last week as they began circulating on various social media platforms, has raised alarm bells in Washington and allied capitals about the sensitive military and intelligence information that's now been published. The documents appear to feature details about a wide range of topics and countries — including US partners like Israel, South Korea, and Ukraine and adversarial nations such as Russia, China, and Iran.

A handful of the documents, like the one that reviews both Russian and Ukrainian casualties, contain information about Ukraine's combat readiness and battlefield preparations. They include detailed maps, battle damage assessments, force attrition rates, weapons and other equipment, and more classified information.

Experts have cautioned that malign actors may already be altering these documents for propaganda reasons. For example, in some cases, information about Russian casualties appears to have been altered to show a much lower killed in action figure for the Russian forces.
US officials, meanwhile, are urgently investigating the leak.

"The Department of Defense continues to review and assess the validity of the photographed documents that are circulating on social media sites and that appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a statement shared with Insider in response to queries about the Russian and Ukrainian casualties.

"An interagency effort has been stood up, focused on assessing the impact these photographed documents could have on US national security and on our Allies and partners," she continued. "Over the weekend, US officials have engaged with Allies and partners and have informed relevant congressional committees of jurisdiction about the disclosure."

"The Department of Defense's highest priority is the defense of our nation and our national security. We have referred this matter to the Department of Justice, which has opened a criminal investigation," Singh added.