 An investigation has reportedly uncovered the true death toll of Russian men in the Ukraine war. Moscow's publicly acknowledged figures show more than 6,000 soldiers have died. But two independent media outlets have carried out in-depth research and found that number to be more than eight times higher. Kremlin officials have continually tried to 'unsuccessfully hide' the death count, according to experts analysing the data. The study shows that the number of men to have died in the conflict is in-fact around the 50,000 mark. It's the first independent statistical analysis that has been undertaken to shed light on one of Vladimir Putin's most closely-guarded secrets – the true human cost of the invasion of Ukraine. Two independent outlets, Mediazona and Meduza, have worked together with a data scientist from Germany's Tubingen University to identify a more realistic reflection of the lives lost. Nearly 50,000 Russian men have died since the war started in Ukraine – almost eight times as many as Moscow has reported (Picture: AP) Researchers relied on a statistical concept popularised during the Covid-19 pandemic called excess mortality. Drawing on inheritance records and official mortality data, they estimated how many more men under the age of 50 died between February 2022 and May 2023 than normal. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses, and each is at pains to amplify the other side's casualties. Reports about military losses have been repressed in Russian media, activists and independent journalists say. The war in Ukraine has been a bloody, deadly conflict (Picture: Getty Images) Documenting the dead has become an act of defiance, and those who do so face harassment and potential criminal charges. Despite such challenges, Mediazona and the BBC's Russian Service, working with a){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
An investigation has reportedly uncovered the true death toll of Russian men in the Ukraine war.
Moscow’s publicly acknowledged figures show more than 6,000 soldiers have died.
But two independent media outlets have carried out in-depth research and found that number to be more than eight times higher.
Kremlin officials have continually tried to ‘unsuccessfully hide’ the death count, according to experts analysing the data.