More than 400,000 Russians killed fighting in Ukraine war, leaked data suggests

Leaked Russian death records suggest that 412,576 people were killed fighting in Ukraine, highlighting the scale of Russia’s losses as the war approaches its fifth year. The figures emerge as peace talks are due in Abu Dhabi, while Moscow continues to withhold an official military death toll.

The dataset contains more than 11 million death certificates and was obtained by two hacking groups, which shared it with the Guardian and other outlets. Its authenticity could not be independently confirmed in full, but researchers said it appears credible and broadly aligns with other estimates, including British intelligence’s estimate of about 500,000 soldiers killed. The leak may undercount deaths because some soldiers remain unidentified or missing and official records can lag by around six months; it also suggests losses have fallen especially heavily on poorer eastern regions.