The remains of a dozen Russian soldiers killed in the town of Nova Basan, in Ukraine, were released by Ukrainian forces a few days ago. Photo: The New York Times
Although the quantity a well -kept secret of the government, of the thousands of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, many are very young, poor and sometimes from ethnic minorities, experts say.
The Kremlin has not released any information on the matter since March 25, that is, a month and a day after the war began.
The Russian government admitted that 1,351 soldiers were killed in the fighting, compared to the previous official balance of 498 soldiers killed, published on March 2.
After seven weeks of devastating fighting and several Ukrainian videos showing severe defeat on the enemy side, the Ukrainian government put the death toll at 27,000.
A Russian soldier waits in a military vehicle in front of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine. Photo: REUTERS
Day 83 in photos: Mariupol falls into Russian hands
A high number according to many Western military and analysts, whose reviews on Russia are greatly underestimated.
The mystery of numbers
“Russia is likely to have suffered losses equivalent to a third of the ground combat force deployed in February,” the British Ministry of Defense observed on Sunday, or 50,000 Russian soldiers were wounded or killed.
At the rate of three wounded per dead identified by Moscow at the start of the fighting, it would take 12,500 Russians dead in less than three months of “special operations”.
In other words, very close to 15,000 Soviets died during a decade of war in Afghanistan (1979-1989), which caused national trauma and the collapse of the USSR.
“We bow to our comrades-in-arms bravely killed in a just fight for Russia,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an award paid on May 9, Victory Day.
“The death of every soldier or officer is a cause of grief for us and an irreplaceable loss for those close to us,” he added, announcing a series of measures to help the families of the injured and dead.
casualties
Russophone site Mediazona said it confirmed the deaths of 2,099 Russian soldiers in combat on May 6, only from open sources. A large part of them had between 21 and 23 years old, and 74 not even 20 years, defined that medium.
Russian soldiers are examining a group of Ukrainian soldiers, in Mariupul, on Tuesday. Photo: EFE
Some of them were originally from Moscow or St. Petersburg. Petersburg.two cities richer than the Russian average.
Most of the dead came from southern Russia, especially the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region, as well as central Siberia, according to the same source.
The highest number of deaths (135) was confirmed among soldiers from the Muslim North Caucasus region of Dagestan, followed by the Buryats (98), a Mongolian minority from Buryatia, a Siberian province.
Dmitro, who was interviewed by the AFP in April in Zaporizhia (southern Ukraine) after surviving the aggression and bombing in Mariupol for more than a month, spoke about the “three waves” of occupiers in his city.
The pro-Russian separatists of the Donbas were relieved by the Buryats, who “robbed everything”, then the Chechens were guilty of “hunting people”, according to this doctor who testified anonymously.
From town to war
“The largest number of soldiers and infantry officers in the army come from small cities and towns in Russia. This is related to the socio-economic (…) and stratification of education,” said Pavel Luzin, a commentator on the site, the AFP. Riddle Russia online information.
Well, “requests for military service” to that armed body are “relatively low,” he defined.
The best soldiers prefer and will be officers other forces such as “space forces, strategic ballistic forces and navy,” he added.
The advance of Russian troops in Ukraine. /AFP
The local media and the social networks of Dagestan, one of the poorest regions of Russiaplagued for years by an Islamist insurgency, is full of images of grieving parents receiving sympathy from those responsible.
Sadness and recognition
Kamil Iziiev, head of Dagestan’s Buinakski district, posted a video on the Telegram in May showing rewards being handed out to the families of the five dead soldiers in front, greeted by grieving wives and mothers wearing Muslim cloaks. .
The first Russian soldier whose death was officially confirmed by Russia was Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov, a young Dagestani who, according to state media, died in the rescue of comrades.
He was posthumously awarded the Heroes of Russia order on March 4 by Vladimir Putin.
The Russian president then praised the role of ethnic minorities in Ukraine, saying he was “proud to belong to this world, this powerful, strong and multinational Russian people.”
Source: AFP
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Source: Clarin