Vladimir Putin has been concealing the grim reality of Russia’s war in Ukraine from his country.

However, recent leaks of United States Department of Defense documents have brought the truth to light, exposing the staggering toll the conflict has taken on Russian forces.

According to rough calculations by The Economist based on these leaked documents, Russia’s military losses in the war may have reached nearly three-quarters of a million soldiers, either killed, captured, or wounded.

These figures don’t include severely injured personnel unable to return to combat, nor do they account for those recruited from occupied territories.

The Economist estimates that for every Russian soldier killed, three to four are wounded in the ongoing battles.

By mid-June 2024, it is believed that between 462,000 and 728,000 Russian soldiers had been taken out of action.