BBC: Russian death toll in Ukraine ‘meat grinder’ attacks reaches 70,000

According to media reports, the figure was compiled from obituaries, death notices, grave information and other public information, such as official reports.

The media said they had verified whether the information had been passed on by the authorities or the relatives of the deceased.

They said the actual death toll was likely far higher because the total did not include those whose deaths were not publicly announced or those fighting in militias.

According to the BBC, 13,781 of the deaths were volunteers, or about 20 percent of the total. 19 percent of the deaths were convicts recruited into the military, while 13 percent of the deaths were mobilized into the military.

The report comes as Russia continues to send troops in high-casualty, “meat grinder”-style frontal attacks on Ukrainian positions in an effort to capture more territory in eastern Ukraine.

The attacks use waves of troops to overwhelm Ukrainian positions or expose their position.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine have released official casualty figures. However, estimates by Western intelligence agencies, cited by the Wall Street Journal in September, suggest that up to 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and around 400,000 wounded since the war in Ukraine began.

The publication said that confidential Ukrainian figures put the number of dead at 80,000 and injured at 400,000.

Since Russia has a much larger population, the high casualty numbers pose an even greater problem for Ukraine.

Russia has strengthened its armed forces by offering lucrative contracts and drafting prisoners in exchange for reduced prison sentences.

However, analysts believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is hesitant to reintroduce conscription for civilians because he fears social unrest.

The invasion developed into a grueling war of attrition in which drone surveillance, relentless artillery fire and Russian tactics led to heavy losses.

While Russia recently advanced near the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, Ukraine took control of areas in the Russian province of Kursk.