![the fog of war the fog of war](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fd60b4213b9f8d4bcf6f50b005b06503-1200-80.jpg)
The death toll for Russian fighters likely lies somewhere north of 15,000 to 20,000, although those numbers were first given by Western intelligence agencies some months ago if they were even close to correct then, the total will likely be higher now. As von Clausewitz would have noted, warring parties have their reasons for under- or overstating such figures. While the Ukrainians at least offer some documentation for their assessments, this is almost certainly an exaggerated number. No analysts or observers we have spoken with believe that figure is correct - or even close to accurate.Īt the other end of the spectrum, there is the Ukrainian “official” tally of Russian dead, which is updated often and was most recently given as 43,000. In a recent piece for Grid, Global Security reporter Joshua Keating quoted the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, who said, “Casualty reports on either side are never accurate, seldom truthful, and in most cases deliberately falsified.” Consider the disparity in data involving Russian losses in Ukraine: The Kremlin’s official public assessment still stands at 1,351.
![the fog of war the fog of war](https://assets.drafthouse.com/v1501781627/shows/fog_title.jpg)
Since the war in Ukraine began, Russian casualties in particular have been a source of both high interest and great confusion.
![the fog of war the fog of war](https://www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/social_share_image/public/views-article/thumbs/fog_of_phony_war.jpg)
In the proverbial fog of war, among the hardest facts to nail down are assessments of casualties.