Hacked records show 400,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war

· Security · Ukraine · Russia

Hacked records from Russia's statistics agency, Rosstat, show the country has recorded the deaths of about 400,000 of its people fighting in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began nearly five years ago. Between Feb 24, 2022, and late August 2026, almost 392,700 death certificates explicitly link the fatalities to the war, according to the confidential data. The disclosure comes as Moscow intensifies attacks on Ukraine's energy system: Russian strikes left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without electricity on Sunday, and Moscow said it hit two substations supplying the defence industry and three cargo vessels in the Black Sea. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is again relying on backup generators after losing external power, with the IAEA saying the cause is not yet known.

Why it matters：The leaked casualty data gives a rare independent anchor for Russia's human cost and, amid renewed strikes on power infrastructure, shows how the war is escalating ahead of fresh peace talks.

Key points

  • Nearly 392,700 death certificates explicitly link the deaths to the war.
  • Russia said it hit two power substations and three Black Sea cargo vessels.
  • The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lost external power, its cause unknown, the IAEA said.

Sources (original reporting)

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