“From the heart. Congratulations”
“The pain of loss, of course, no one can replace. However, he still deserved it,” said A. Proshunin and presented a medal to the mother of the deceased. After that, the city leader shook hands with the father of the man who served in the military and added: “From the heart. Congratulations. Thank you very much for your son.”
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A. Proshunin also assured the parents of the deceased that the memory of him in Sochi will be preserved just like “all the heroes who go out to defend our homeland.” In addition, the mayor promised help and support to the Roganian family, emphasizing: “We are always by your side.”
By mid-August, Mediazona and BBC Russian Service identified the names of 239,354 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. According to inheritance case registry data, losses could reach 352 thousand people by the end of 2025.
At the same time, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), from February 2022 to June 2026, Russia lost about 1.4 million people in Ukraine. Of these, at least 450 thousand were killed. Analysts estimate that in the first half of 2026, monthly Russian losses ranged from 30 to 34 thousand people, exceeding the recruitment rate of new contract soldiers – about 27 thousand per month.
Many more Russians are dying
Meanwhile, the ratio of Russian to Ukrainian losses, according to CSIS data, increased to 8:1 in the first half of 2026, compared to 2:1-3:1 for most of the war – mainly because Ukrainian forces massively use unmanned aerial vehicles, including drones with artificial intelligence elements.
The number of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine exceeds all Soviet Union and Russian losses in wars after 1945 by more than nine times.
“Since World War II, no major country has suffered even similar losses in any war. This leaves Russia with a grim and unprecedented historical record,” emphasized CSIS.
