War casualties: “WSJ”: Russia and Ukraine lost one million soldiers

According to research by the US newspaper “Wall Street Journal”, hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides have been injured and killed in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The Ukrainian troops have suffered around 80,000 dead and 400,000 wounded, the paper reported, citing a confidential Ukrainian estimate. According to estimates by Western intelligence services, Russia has lost as many as 600,000 soldiers – 200,000 dead and 400,000 wounded – the “Wall Street Journal” continues. There are no official figures from Kiev or Moscow on their own losses.

However, the newspaper’s information is consistent with estimates by the British Ministry of Defense on Moscow’s losses in the war. According to the report, 610,000 Russian soldiers have died or been so badly wounded that they are no longer fit for action since the war began. “A tactic based on massive waves of infantry has forced Russia to replenish the frontline forces with a constant stream of new recruits,” the ministry said on Platform X. According to the report, Moscow is now finding it more difficult to recruit volunteers.

The long-term effects

The high price of blood paid by the two warring parties also has fatal long-term consequences. Even before the outbreak of the armed conflict, Russia and Ukraine were struggling with shrinking populations. For Ukraine, whose population is only around a quarter of Russia’s, the problem is existential, writes the Wall Street Journal. While Russia can at least partially make up for the losses on the front by occupying Ukrainian territories and taking over the population living there, Kiev also has to cope with a mass exodus abroad.

The number of civilian casualties has not been included in the calculation anyway. According to human rights activists, thousands of people have been killed on the Ukrainian side in particular as a result of the systematic shelling of cities and towns.