“It’s hard to cover the loss”
Russia has already lost 900 elite soldiers
Several thousand Russian soldiers have died since the war began. At least 900 of them belong to the Special Forces. It will be difficult for the Kremlin to make up for these losses.
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At least 900 elite Russian soldiers have already died in the war in Ukraine.
The Russian military has suffered heavy casualties in Russia’s six-month war of aggression against Ukraine. The number of dead soldiers is still a secret. There have been no official figures from Kremlin officials for a long time.
However, using publicly available data, Russia’s BBC found that at least 900 elite Kremlin fighters died in addition to other Russian soldiers. Among them are soldiers of various elite units, paratroopers, marines and fighter jet pilots.
Years of expensive training
At least 337 sailors have died since the invasion began, according to Russia’s BBC. Russia’s military intelligence also lost 151 people. Special forces of the National Guard and paratroopers also suffered heavy losses. Russia also mourned the deaths of 144 members of the paratrooper troops, although at least 245 people died in the operations of the National Guard.
At least 67 officers and pilots from aviation units were also killed. In addition to jet pilots, this includes navigation officers and mechanics.
It should not be easy for Russia to make up for these losses. Unlike many newly recruited soldiers, some of these 900 specialists have been training for years for a possible deployment. According to the BBC, training a fighter pilot in Russia takes up to 17 years and costs around 14 million francs.
Officials clean the streets
At least 16 of the dead Russians were recipients of the special award. Being called a maroon beret is considered a special honor. The wearers of this cap are considered the elite of the special forces and the best of the best.
Western military experts suspect that many elite fighters on the platform faced tasks they had not trained for before. Apart from that, the soldiers have also taken up the tasks carried out by ordinary soldiers.
For example, a Russian military intelligence officer reportedly died in late March while cleaning a street in Mariupol. Usually, such tasks are done by common soldiers.
It is not clear how many Russian soldiers died in total during the war. Russia last updated its casualty count on March 20. At that time, the number of fallen soldiers was around 1,100. The figure may have risen significantly in the meantime, with NATO estimating between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian dead. (jis)
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