Russian deaths in Ukraine hit 70,000 in ‘meat grinder’ attacks: BBC

According to the publications, the figure was compiled from obituaries, death notices, grave information and other public information such as official reports.

The outlets said they checked whether the information was shared by authorities or relatives of the deceased.

They said the actual death toll was likely much higher because the total did not include those whose deaths were not publicly announced or those fighting in militias.

The BBC said that of the recorded deaths, 13,781 were volunteers, representing around 20% of the total. Convicts drafted into the military accounted for 19% of deaths, while civilians drafted into the military accounted for 13% of deaths.

The report comes as Russia continues to send troops in frontal, “meat grinder” attacks on Ukrainian positions to seize more territory in eastern Ukraine.

The attacks involve sending waves of troops to try to overwhelm Ukrainian positions or expose their location.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine release official casualty figures, but Western intelligence estimates cited by The Wall Street Journal in September said as many as 200,000 Russian soldiers may have been killed and about 400,000 wounded since the war in Ukraine began .

The publication says that confidential Ukrainian figures put the number of dead at 80,000 and the number of wounded at 400,000.

Because of Russia’s much larger population, the steep casualty figures pose a more serious problem for Ukraine.

Russia supplemented its military by offering lucrative contracts and recruiting prisoners in exchange for reduced sentences.

However, analysts believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is wary of launching another civilian military project over fears it could cause social unrest.

The invasion became a grinding war of attrition, with drone surveillance and relentless artillery fire, as well as Russian tactics that led to steep casualties.

While Russia has made recent advances near the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, Ukraine has taken control of territory in Russia’s Kursk province.