The war in Ukraine continues to take a heavy toll on the Russian military with figures showing Vladimir Putin’s convict soldiers are suffering high losses.
A joint investigation by the BBC’s Russian service and the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona has collected the identities of 41,731 Russian soldiers who have been killed in Ukraine since February 2022.
According to the report, the actual number of Russian losses is likely much higher.
Ex-prisoners hired by Russian private military companies like the infamous Wagner Group make up 37 per cent of total confirmed Russian losses, according to the investigation.
An additional 12 per cent of the losses are from those conscripted during Putin’s September 2022 mobilisation.
Since the start of the war, the Kremlin has enlisted tens of thousands of prisoners to form “Storm-Z” squads tasked with carrying out mass frontal assaults in the most dangerous areas of the front.
According to Newsweek, as of December 2023, the total number of convicts granted presidential pardons in exchange for six months of service in the Ukraine had surpassed 100,000.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Kyiv last week to announce the additional funding, making him the first foreign leader to visit Ukraine this year.
President Zelensky faces concerns about waning interest from allies as the conflict persists, so the £2.5billion military aid package from the UK is crucial.
Mr Sunak pledged ongoing support in Ukraine’s battle against Russia.
Mr Zelensky hailed Mr Sunak’s “personal leadership” and said the agreement would lay “the groundwork for our further work with our other partners”.
At a press conference alongside the Ukrainian president, Mr Sunak said “our opponents around the world believe that we have neither the patience nor the resources for long wars”.
