More than 9,800 Russian troops have been killed and more than 16,000 wounded since the invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, according to data from the Russian Defense Ministry cited in and then removed from an article in a pro-Kremlin tabloid, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Journal foreign affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov tweeted a screenshot of the article, which began by citing Ukrainian claims that over 14,000 Russian troops have been killed.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Russian casualty figures were removed from the Komsomolskaya Pravda article four hours after it was published on Sunday afternoon. Mark Graham, who manages the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, helped The Week locate the original version. The version currently accessible on Komsomolskaya Pravda's website makes no mention of the update.
In 2015, The Moscow Times reported that Komsomolskaya Pravda is part of a select group of Russian news outlets known as "our guys" whose news editors have yellow phones on their desks that link directly to the Kremlin.
If the casualty numbers are accurate, it would mean that, in less than four weeks, the Russian military has lost more than double the number of U.S.-led coalition troops killed during the entire nine-year Iraq War.
Russia's last official casualty report was released on March 2 and claimed that 498 Russian troops had been killed and 1,597 wounded.
On March 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the invasion began.
Update: 11:015 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include an archived version of the Komsomolskaya Pravda story that matches the content shown in the screenshot. The headline has been modified accordingly.
-
Political cartoons for November 30Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the Saudi-China relationship, MAGA spelled wrong, and more
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Is conscription the answer to Europe’s security woes?Today's Big Question How best to boost troop numbers to deal with Russian threat is ‘prompting fierce and soul-searching debates’
-
Trump peace deal: an offer Zelenskyy can’t refuse?Today’s Big Question ‘Unpalatable’ US plan may strengthen embattled Ukrainian president at home
-
Vladimir Putin’s ‘nuclear tsunami’ missileThe Explainer Russian president has boasted that there is no way to intercept the new weapon
-
The Baltic ‘bog belt’ plan to protect Europe from RussiaUnder the Radar Reviving lost wetland on Nato’s eastern flank would fuse ‘two European priorities that increasingly compete for attention and funding: defence and climate’
-
How should Nato respond to Putin’s incursions?Today’s big question Russia has breached Nato airspace regularly this month, and nations are primed to respond
-
Russia’s war games and the threat to NatoIn depth Incursion into Poland and Zapad 2025 exercises seen as a test for Europe
-
What will bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table?Today’s Big Question With diplomatic efforts stalling, the US and EU turn again to sanctions as Russian drone strikes on Poland risk dramatically escalating conflict
-
The mission to demine UkraineThe Explainer An estimated quarter of the nation – an area the size of England – is contaminated with landmines and unexploded shells from the war
