How do we get a realistic estimate of deaths in a war if one side intentionally does not make their figures known?
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This early in the war, all report aren’t accurate. For instance Russian losses are unclear in the Ukraine Invasio, Russia says 0 right now and Ukraine says 3,000. At this point in a war, we see the real-life “fog of war” that obscures everything and makes estimation hard. The added modern concept of fake news, doctored footage and misinformation makes it that much harder.
If one side is hiding casualties, it basically does come down to the other side reporting the enemies they’ve killed. Which Ukraine has been doing, they have been taking pictures of ID, name tapes and dog tags of Russian soldiers they kill and recover in combat. I have personally been compiling a list of confirmed Russia KIAs I’ve seen online, and my list says 279 confirmed Russian deaths and 87 confirmed POWs. Independent journalists and fact-checkers are going to be the best way to report casualties probably until after the war and a Russian change in governance.
But Russia lying doesn’t change all the mothers, siblings, wives and children whose son or brother or father isn’t coming home. Unlike governments, the people don’t forget the names of their loved ones and they don’t forget they didn’t come back. Over time, that is how researches build the most accurate counts.
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