Sverdlovsk Oblast compiles registry of fallen soldiers in Ukraine war

The governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Denis Pasler, signed an order to compile a named registry of soldiers buried in the region who died in the Ukraine war and previous conflicts. Independent media reports that nearly 6,990 soldiers from this Russian region alone have been killed in the Ukraine war, with over 352,000 Russian soldiers killed in total.

The governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Denis Pasler, signed an order on 11 June to create a named registry of soldiers buried in the region. The registry covers those who died in the Ukraine war and previous conflicts, including the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya. The order was reported by Russian newspaper Kommersant.

Registry to be published online

Municipal commissions will be established in each municipality to maintain the registry. The task of data collection and registry compilation falls to the Patriotic Education Centre named after Hero of Russia I. O. Rodabolsky, which is part of the structure of Sverdlovsk Oblast's youth policy department.

Data are to be submitted by local authorities annually by 1 March at the latest. For each fallen soldier, information is to be added including their decorations and a biographical summary. Based on the collected information, a monument may be erected, a memorial plaque installed, a geographical feature named after the fallen, or a memorial day established.

Actual losses run into hundreds of thousands

Independent media outlet Mediazona, working with BBC Russian Service and volunteer teams, has confirmed 6,990 soldiers from Sverdlovsk Oblast killed in the Ukraine war as of 15 June.

According to estimates by Meduza and Mediazona, Russia has lost a total of 352,000 soldiers over the course of the four-year war, with missing military personnel included in the calculation for the first time.

The Russian Defence Ministry last published official figures on casualties in September 2022, when it reported 5,937 killed. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later explained the absence of public information by saying that "the state secrets law and special regime for information distribution under the conditions of the special operation remain in effect".