A report released by the BBC has claimed that no fewer than 50,000 Russian soldiers have been killed on the front lines in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
The report which was sighted by Africa Today News, New York said that Russia’s use of ‘Meat grinder’ tactics caused the high rate of casualties, which accelerated last year as inexperienced troops arrived on the front lines.
The BBC‘s Russian unit said it has been recording deaths since Moscow’s forces invaded the neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.
It noted that the rate of casualties accelerated in the second year of the conflict.
The tally, compiled by BBC Russian, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers saw the death toll rise to 27,300 Russian soldiers during the second year of the war, a 25 percent increase on the first year.
The Russian government has however, kept mum over the real figures, suggesting that it still held on to the official death toll it released in September 2022, which put the death toll just under 6,000 of its soldiers.
The BBC report however did not cover casualties among militia forces in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, which means that the actual overall death toll is probably significantly higher than 50,000.
Similarly, Ukraine appears not to disclose the real casualty figures of the death of its troops.
It said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers but that figure is also widely thought likely to be lower than the true toll.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the Russian on Thursday morning reacted to the report saying it did not disclose information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the remit of the defence ministry.
In another report, President Joe Biden on Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass stalled legislation that would provide billions in military and other aid to Israel citing Iran’s weekend attack against the US ally.