February 25, 2025

On Russian Casualties


On Russian Casualties
Readiness check of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.  Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Wikimedia Commons

A Russian army sergeant who deserted has provided Radio Liberty with what he says is a database from the Main Military Medical Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense, containing information on 166,000 wounded servicemen during the ongoing Russia's War on Ukraine. Radio Liberty journalists verified that the data covers military personnel treated in Russian military hospitals from January 2022 to mid-June 2024.

Radio Liberty noted the database does not represent the full number of wounded because it excludes troops who received brief treatment and returned to the front. 

The deserter’s data shows that privates most frequently end up in hospitals. Officers made up 17 percent of all wounded in February 2022, but that figure fell to 6 percent by June 2024. This highlights a critical issue the Russian army encountered at the start of the full-scale invasion: poor communication systems forced junior officers to be at the front lines alongside their units, resulting in many fatalities among that group.

The Defense Ministry archive details injuries sustained by nearly 90,000 privates, 40,000 sergeants, 15,000 corporals, 7,000 lieutenants, 3,000 captains, 2,700 praporshchiks, 2,100 majors, 1,000 lieutenant colonels, 381 colonels, more than 30 major generals, 10 lieutenant generals, and one colonel general. The archive also lists nearly 5,000 naval servicemen. 

From January 2022 to June 2024, the database shows 2,250 soldiers were seriously wounded, 58,632 were moderately wounded, and 80,269 were lightly wounded. However, the deserter told Radio Liberty that hospitals may deliberately underestimate the severity of injuries to expedite soldiers’ return to combat, adding that amputations are the only injuries that reliably keep troops off the front lines. The database reportedly contains data on more than 3,200 amputations.

Radio Liberty found the number of wounded surged during periods of major Russian offensives, including the initial push toward Kyiv, the spring 2022 campaign in the Donbas region, and assaults on Avdiivka and Bakhmut. Another jump in casualties occurred in late autumn 2023, which the deserter attributed to Ukraine’s increased use of FPV drones.

The outlet also reported a rise in frostbite, burns, and mental disorders among Russian troops from November 2022 to March 2023 and again from November 2023 to March 2024.

“Shrapnel wound” was the most common injury cited, with nearly 70,000 cases—more than three times the number of gunshot wounds. Several hundred servicemen were hospitalized for drug or alcohol-related poisoning, according to the database. Fifty-eight of the entries included a diagnosis related to attempted suicide.

Radio Liberty additionally noted that the average age of hospitalized servicemen rose from 28 in February 2022 to 36 by mid-June 2024—an increase of one-third over the period covered by the database. In March 2022, those aged 50 and older accounted for 1.3 percent of hospital admissions, but by April 2024, that figure exceeded 11 percent. 

You Might Also Like

Frontline Sex, Moscow Prices
  • February 11, 2025

Frontline Sex, Moscow Prices

Russian sex workers have flocked to the frontlines of Ukraine to satisfy soldiers' growing demand.
Full Immersion in the War
  • February 13, 2025

Full Immersion in the War

Russian schools now include VR exhibits that immerse kids in Russia's War on Ukraine.
Trauma or Personal Growth?
  • December 30, 2024

Trauma or Personal Growth?

Some Russian psychologists and ex-combatants claim war has had a positive effect on people's lives.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955