While the Kremlin has remained tight-lipped about the death toll, the BBC and the independent website Mediazona were able to compile their figures after researching the obituaries and funeral notices published in regular Russian media and on social networks.

“We checked that the information had been shared by authorities or relatives of the deceased - and that they had been identified as dying in the war,” wrote the BBC.

“New graves in cemeteries have also helped provide the names of soldiers killed in Ukraine - these are usually marked by flags and wreaths sent by the defense ministry,” they added.

In all, BBC were able to confirm that 70,112 Russians had been killed since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, the service emphasized that the true figure was likely to be “considerably higher”.

“Some families do not share details of their relatives’ deaths publicly,” wrote the service. “Our analysis does not include names we were unable to check, or the deaths of militia in Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.”

Of the dead that the BBC had been able to confirm, 13,781 were volunteers (approximately 20% of the death toll). This figure now surpasses other categories. Pardoned prisoners accounted for 19% of the death toll, while mobilized soldiers accounted for 13%.

According to the BBC’s analysis, the majority of men that had signed up hailed from small towns in regions where stable, well-paid work was scarce.

Most of the volunteers killed were aged between 42 and 50, with that age group accounting for 4,100 of the 13,781 dead volunteers. The oldest volunteer known to have been killed was 71 years old. The findings further revealed that around 250 volunteers aged over 60 had been killed so far.