A data leak from Russia's statistics agency has revealed that nearly 400,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine since 2022.
asserted
Russians → reveal → 2022
Hackers from the Belarusian pro-opposition group Cyber Partisans and the Ukrainian operation Silent Crow obtained data from Russia's federal statistics agency, Rosstat, suggesting the war in Ukraine has become the country's fourth most common cause of death over the past four years.
asserted
war → obtain → years
The two groups, both designated as 'extremist organisations' and banned in Russia, say they stole extensive data on the country's economy, demographics and wartime casualties.
asserted
they → designate → economy
According to their findings, over 392,700 death certificates issued between February 2022 and late August 2026 explicitly linked the deaths to the war.
uncertain
certificates → accord → war
The records included references to terms such as 'military operation', 'shelling' and 'drones', either through official coding or handwritten descriptions.
asserted
records → include → coding
And the total includes not only active servicemen but also civilians killed in airstrikes and during Ukraine's 2024 incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
asserted
total → include → region
However, the actual death toll is likely to be considerably higher, as the data does not account for soldiers missing in action or the estimated 27,000 foreign fighters believed to have been recruited into the military.
asserted
data → account → military
According to the data, Russia's ethnic republics have suffered disproportionately from mobilization and recruitment for the armed forces
And not all deaths recorded were in combat, with over 14,000 cases describing the death of a soldier from non-military causes, including sickness, road accidents or suicide.
uncertain
deaths → accord → sickness
Another 32,000 died from injuries they had sustained at least a year earlier.
asserted
they → die → injuries
Janis Kluge, head of the Russia and Eurasia division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told The Moscow Times: 'This is the most significant leak of data when it comes to Russian casualties.'
asserted
it → tell → casualties
'I think it's established as a fact that the war has never been more deadly than it is right now.'
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it → think → fact
If accurate, the figures would make the war in Ukraine Russia's deadliest conflict since the Second World War.
asserted
war → make → War
According to the data, Russia's ethnic republics have suffered disproportionately from mobilization and recruitment for the armed forces.
uncertain
republics → accord → forces
Meanwhile, major cities such as Moscow have accounted for a disproportionately low share of casualties relative to their population size.
asserted
cities → account → size
According to researcher Maria Vyushkova, the Kremlin's recruitment policies amounted to the 'extermination of entire nations' for some of Russia's smallest ethnic groups.
uncertain
policies → accord → groups
The findings of the leak support previous accounts of minorities from poor regions being recruited with promises of big salaries and generous benefits.
asserted
minorities → support → salaries
Meanwhile, the war rages on, with Russia on Monday battering Ukraine's power grid again and Ukrainian forces hitting another of Russia's biggest oil refineries.
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forces → rag → refineries
The offensives came just hours before delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were due to meet for new US-brokered talks on how to end the fighting.
asserted
delegations → come → fighting
Nearly five years after Russia invaded its neighbor, the two countries remain locked in battle with no sign that either side is ready to budge from its demands.
asserted
side → invade → demands
The war has already killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians, analysts and humanitarian organizations say.
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analysts → kill → civilians
US President Donald Trump said in a '60 Minutes' interview that aired Sunday that Moscow and Kyiv are 'very close' to a deal, despite the 'tremendous hatred' between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
asserted
Moscow → say → Putin
He said that Ukraine would have 'a little bit different shape' under the settlement, but he didn't elaborate.
asserted
he → say → settlement
Trump has previously made claims about developments in the war which haven't materialized.
uncertain
which → make → war
Russia's Ministry of Defense said Monday that it had targeted four electrical substations in Ukraine's Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Vinnytsia regions.
asserted
it → say → regions
The attacks are part of Russia's campaign to deny Ukrainian civilians heating, light and running water during the approaching winter.
asserted
attacks → deny → winter
Zelensky said Monday the European Union had agreed to activate a special emergency mechanism that speeds up funding for power grid repairs.
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that → say → repairs
Russia launched 317 drones of various types including 105 jet-powered drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said.
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force → launch → Ukraine
Thick smoke billows from a civilian industrial facility following a double drone attack by the Russian army in Dnipro
Family members cry beside the coffins of Ukrainian police officers killed in a Russian airstrike that destroyed an underground school,
Russian aerial attacks have pummeled Ukraine throughout the war, with gruesome consequences.
asserted
attacks → billow → consequences
A Russian glide bomb attack last week near the front line in the southern Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 55 people at an aid distribution center.
asserted
attack → kill → center
Meanwhile, long-range drones developed by Ukraine during the war started a fire at the KINEF oil refinery, one of Russia's largest, close to St. Petersburg and more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the Ukrainian border, Leningrad Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said Monday.
asserted
Drozdenko → develop → border
Ukraine claimed in early October that its long-range strikes had neutralized more than half of Russia's oil refining capacity, hampering Moscow's ability to supply its forces.
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strikes → claim → forces
The last three-way talks, in Geneva in February, also took place amid continuing attacks.
asserted
talks → take → attacks
They delivered no significant progress in ending the war, but some circumstances have changed.
asserted
circumstances → deliver → war
Trump, whose stance on the war has varied, has to reckon with Democrats taking over Congress in January following the US midterm elections.
asserted
Democrats → vary → elections
They could demand more support for Ukraine.
uncertain
They → demand → Ukraine
Russian state finances are under heavy strain due to the war, and Ukraine's economy is being choked by the relentless attacks.
asserted
economy → choke → attacks
In Abu Dhabi, a planned two days of talks beginning Tuesday will look at what security guarantees would satisfy Russia, which sees NATO as a threat, and Ukraine, which wants to prevent future Russian invasions.
asserted
which → plan → invasions
Putin has sought to sideline European countries and negotiate Ukraine's future directly with Trump.
asserted
Putin → seek → Trump
Moscow says European officials won't be involved in the Abu Dhabi discussions, but French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Sunday that France and other European representatives would be in the United Arab Emirates.
asserted
France → say → Emirates
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday that the meeting would focus on trilateral negotiations, with the United States mediating between Russia and Ukraine.
asserted
States → say → Russia
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
