The Russian army has lost over 300,000 people in the four years of war in Ukraine, according to independent sources. Although Russian deaths are an open secret, the Kremlin remains silent to avoid further amplifying the growing discontent of Russians towards the military campaign in the neighboring country. Russian soldiers killed in combat are called “Cargo 200” since the time of the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989). At that time, the label accompanying the transport read 200, because this was the maximum weight of the zinc coffin allowed by the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, writes Agerpres, quoting EFE.
The last time the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on deaths among the Russian army was in September 2022, when it estimated the figure at 5,937, just before the mobilization of reservists that triggered the exile of over a million men of military age.
Western sources, starting with NATO and reaching to American and British secret services, estimate daily losses in the ranks of the Russian army at about 1,000 soldiers and monthly losses at over 30,000. In addition, January would be the first month in which the Russian army could not replace losses with volunteers.
The Open Secret
The well-known military blogger Yuri Podoliak, who was invited to receptions at the Kremlin, was the one who broke the silence in January, when he addressed the sensitive subject of Cargo 200 on YouTube.
Podoliak admitted that the Russian army could have lost up to 415,000 people: soldiers, volunteers and former prisoners recruited by the Wagner mercenary group.
At the same time, he estimated the total number of deaths at over 800,000 out of the over two million Russians who participated in what is known in Russia as a “special military operation”. These human losses contrast sharply with territorial gains: only 12% of Ukrainian territory has been conquered since February 24, 2022.
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