5,000 officers dead: what we know about Russian losses in Ukraine by mid-May
More than 5,000 Russian officers have been confirmed dead since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Of these, around one in 10 was a senior officer with the rank of colonel or lieutenant colonel.
By Olga Ivshina.
BBC News Russian, in collaboration with the independent outlet Mediazona and a team of volunteers, has confirmed Russia has lost more than 5,000 officers - including 10 generals, and 524 senior officers since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Military experts say the loss of so many men in leadership roles is having a damaging impact on logistics, coordination and the way military operations are organised.
In the first months of the war, one in five confirmed fatalities held a command position - most commonly at the rank of lieutenant or captain.
Due to the structure of the Russian army, junior officers play a crucial frontline role, responsible for both training their platoons and directing combat actions.
Unlike Western armies, Russia lacks a strong corps of non-commissioned officers (NCOs), leaving junior officers to take on key tactical leadership roles.
As British military intelligence noted in a 2022 assessment, this structure meant junior officers often had to lead ground-level operations themselves.
The deaths of lieutenants and captains has disrupted command structures, logistics, and coordination with other military branches, particularly artillery, and the resulting disarray has led to “friendly fire” incidents.
Confirmed deaths among junior officers are nearing 4,000, according to data compiled by the BBC. Some 1,000 more senior officers have also been killed, including 675 majors, bringing the total number of officer-class deaths to more than 5,000.
A report from the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute attributed much of the Russian military’s poor performance to an “unwillingness to decentralise decision making” and a failure to communicate accurate information.
The British intelligence assessment meanwhile noted that the rigid, top-down nature of Russian officer training - designed to impress superiors rather than foster independent decision-making - stifled initiative at critical moments.
Despite these setbacks, Russia’s officer corps has shown an ability to adapt and recover. Yet replacements for fallen commanders often lack comparable expertise or combat readiness.
In a bid to fill this leadership vacuum, the Russian military has recalled reserve officers, including veterans of past wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Syria. This approach has allowed command positions to be restaffed quickly, buying time for the long-term training of new cadets at military academies.
Combat veterans have also begun training new recruits, including prospective officers, sharing hard-earned lessons from the ongoing war.
As a result, officers now make up a smaller share of overall casualties: from 20% in early 2022, to 10% later that year, and down to just 2-3% by spring 2025. This drop reflects both tactical changes and the mass enlistment of volunteer infantry, who now account for the bulk of combat deaths.
Outdated first aid
Among the confirmed officer deaths are 144 colonels and 380 lieutenant colonels.
Many led elite units and were killed in the early months of the invasion, often due to tactical errors or lack of medical support.
One example is Colonel Sergei Sukharev, commander of the 331st Guards Parachute Regiment, who was killed by Ukrainian forces near Hostomel in March 2022. Ukrainian soldiers spotted his unit driving on an open road and shot at the first and last vehicles, thereby trapping the entire convoy.
Lieutenant Colonel Fezul Bichikaev was killed two months later while leading a reconnaissance mission. A bullet struck an artery in his leg - an injury that could have been survivable with a modern tourniquet rather than the outdated kit on hand.
Standard-issue Russian military first aid kits still rely on 1960s-era rubber tourniquets and lack basic supplies that have long been standard in NATO armies.
Generals killed on the frontlines and in Moscow
At least 10 Russian generals are confirmed to have been killed since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Four of them - Andrei Sukhovetsky, Vladimir Frolov, Kanamat Botashev, and Roman Kutuzov - died in the first four months of the war.
At the time, many senior officers were deployed dangerously close to the front lines, attempting to compensate for poor communications with their physical presence.
But by summer 2022, the Russian military had begun restoring its supply lines and communications. Senior commanders retreated to safer positions, and there were no confirmed general-level deaths for the following year.
That changed in the summer of 2023, when Major General Sergei Goryachev and Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov (Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District ) were killed in targeted missile strikes. By then, Ukraine had received advanced long-range artillery systems from Western allies.
Later, two more generals died away from the frontline.
In November 2023, Major General Vladimir Zavadsky reportedly stepped on a mine while at a rear post. Pavel Klimenko, commander of the 5th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, died in a motorcycle crash - possibly while evading a drone strike or, according to some reports, while intoxicated.
At the end of last year, a new trend emerged: assassination.
On December 17, 2024, General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection troops, was killed when an explosive-laden scooter detonated outside his Moscow home.
Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, Deputy Chief of the General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate, died on April 25, 2025, after a car bomb detonated near his residence.
Overall trends
Russian military losses continue to mount. By mid-May BBC News Russian has confirmed the names of 108,608 Russian military personnel killed in the war, almost 2000 more than two weeks ago. Military experts say the true death toll is likely to be much higher and could exceed 200,000.
According to BBC data, the deadliest periods have been the initial invasion phase and the battle for Bakhmut, which lasted from the summer of 2022 to the following year.
2024 appeared to be the deadliest year for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine with more than 45,000 dead.
While the latest weekly casualty figures appear to show a decline, analysts caution this is due to reporting delays, and numbers will likely rise as new obituaries emerge.
Some 25% of casualties in recent weeks were contract soldiers who enlisted after the beginning of the full-scale invasion, according to our data. By comparison, in November 2023, volunteers made up just 14% of confirmed deaths.
Regional governments in Russia continue to boost enlistment incentives, offering bonuses both to recruits and to those who bring in new enlistees.
In Kirov Oblast, for example, the referral bonus recently reached 150,000 rubles (£1,400). In Khabarovsk, the contract signing bonus was increased to 1 million rubles (£9,300).
Of all confirmed deaths, 16% were prisoners who joined the war from penal colonies. Another 12% were mobilised conscripts.
Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Sverdlovsk Oblast have recorded the highest absolute number of military deaths. In Bashkortostan, low regional incomes - averaging around 46,700 rubles (£435) per month in 2023 - make enlistment bonuses particularly appealing. A one-time bonus for signing a contract in Ufa was reportedly 27 times that amount when a state level bonus was also taken into account.
To account for regional population differences, BBC calculated confirmed military deaths per 10,000 men aged 16 to 61. Tuva, the Altai Republic, and Buryatia top the list by this metric.
At least 52% of those killed were civilians with no military background at the war’s start. That number is likely higher, as the circumstances of 29% of the confirmed dead remain unclear. Many were pictured in civilian clothing in obituaries, suggesting they may have been mobilised or volunteered, but definitive information is lacking.
How we count
Every day in Russia, new names of fallen soldiers appear in public sources, alongside funeral photos, tributes, and announcements. These are typically shared by regional governors, municipal authorities, local media, educational institutions, and family members of the deceased.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, BBC News Russian, Mediazona, and a dedicated group of volunteers have been compiling and verifying these reports. Each confirmed death is added to a growing database that forms the basis of our casualty estimates.
For a death to be included, it must be documented by an official Russian source, a credible media outlet, or a relative’s post accompanied by visual evidence - usually a burial photo.
Losses from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics are excluded from the main tally. However, if a Russian citizen voluntarily joined the armed forces of these entities, their death is counted.
We identify the deceased's military branch either through media reports or visible insignia on uniforms.
While mobilised soldiers, volunteers, and convicts do not officially form separate branches of the military, we track these categories independently to allow comparison with losses among professional (contracted) servicemen.
Read this story in Russian here.
English version edited by Theo Merz.
How Russia took record losses in Ukraine in 2024
Last year was the deadliest for Russian forces since the start of the full-scale war with at least 45,287 killed.
Unfortunately, Generalissimo Putin seems prepared to sacrifice many more to satisfy his megalomania.
Putins military tactics and plans are old and outdated. His equipment is outdated. His military has very minimal training. So all Putin's talk of being the premier military of the world is in reality b*******.
Considering they brought their own portable crematoria to the battlefield, rather than send the bodies home, because of costs and again now nothing is in place should the war end for his military to come home - No medical, no homes, no future, no economy.