At least 100 mobilized Russians have been killed on and off the battlefield since President Vladimir Putin announced his chaotic military call-up last month, according to an analysis of confirmed deaths by independent media published Tuesday.
One in five of the mobilized men were said to have died before deployment due to alcohol, drugs, physical altercations, suicide or accidents.
Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe said it tracked the data using official statements, including those circulated by media outlets, obituaries and social media posts that were corroborated by the men’s relatives.
A total of 101 names have been confirmed so far, according to the publication.
Reports of pre-deployment deaths began pouring in the first week that Putin announced a “partial” mobilization of 300,000 reservists on Sept. 21. The first frontline deaths of mobilized men were reported less than two weeks later in early October.
Putin declared an end to his mobilization drive this week days after his defense minister told him that Russia had hit its target of calling up 300,000 reservists. Legal experts warned that Putin’s verbal assurances without a presidential decree give the Kremlin the option to call up more soldiers when needed.
Russia’s “partial” mobilization has been beset by mistakes, protests and a mass exodus to neighboring countries since its announcement.
Novaya Gazeta Europe said in its report that central Russian regions have suffered the heaviest mobilization-related losses, with the confirmed deaths of dozens of citizens from the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions.
Russia’s most recent official death count from the invasion of Ukraine, released Sept. 21, stands at under 6,000 soldiers.
Independent media place the Russian military’s death toll at more than 7,800.
