Grim toll Russia's war casualties surpass 1 million

As the human cost of the invasion mounts, an expansive propaganda campaign and state payouts aim to keep grieving relatives onside

- By Pjotr Sauer

Over the past few years, Nikolai has seen the ups and downs of the funeral trade in his native Ufa, a Russian city in the plains west of the Ural mountains.

The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Russia with devastating force, brought an unexpected boom to his family-run business, forcing him to hire extra staff almost overnight.

“But after Covid, there was a real dip; people just stopped dying in such numbers,” Nikolai said.

That lull didn’t last. Over the past two and a half years, business has picked up again - part of the reason: Russia’s casualties in its continuing invasion of Ukraine.

Few regions in Russia have sent as many men to fight and die in Ukraine as the republic of Bashkortostan, whose capital, Ufa, draws recruits from poorer surrounding areas.

“Sometimes, I check the name of the person we're burying and realise it’s someone I know - someone I went to school with or met before,” said Nikolai, who asked that his last name be withheld for fear of government reprisals.

Since the start of its war in Ukraine, Russia’s military casualties have remained a closely guarded state secret. But look a little closer and the signs of devastation are unmistakable - from the booming funeral industry to the rising number of veterans returning home without arms or legs.

Between January and April 2025, funeral service providers in the country earned nearly 40bn roubles ($500m), a 12.7% year-on-year increase, according to Rosstat, Russia’s federal state statistics service.

This month, Russia’s wartime toll of dead and wounded reached a historic milestone. According to the British Ministry of Defence, more than 1 million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022.