The Ukraine War in data: Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, ‘forcibly removed’ from their land to Russia

Two million Ukrainian citizens, including hundreds of thousands of children, have been “forcibly removed” from Ukrainian territory and taken to Russia since the war began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week.

In the same address, before the Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul, South Korea, Zelenskyy said citizens in Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces had been interrogated, and those considered insufficiently loyal to Russia were being taken in large numbers to “re-education” camps in Russia. “Just imagine this number — 2 million people,” he said. “That’s how many of our people have already been taken to Russia.”

It’s a number that’s impossible to confirm — and Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials may have reasons to inflate the figure. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently condemned the seizures and deportations and gave a lower estimate of 900,000 to 1.6 million deportees.

The horrific practice is reminiscent of mass deportations carried out by the Soviet Union in the years following World War II.

Civilians killed: at least 5,000 (probably thousands more)

On June 7, a Ukrainian official said at least 40,000 Ukrainian civilians had been killed or wounded since the war began. The official offered no breakdown of dead vs. wounded. The United Nations’ estimate of civilians killed is now more than 5,000, but it consistently adds that the figure is an undercount, as is its estimate of total casualties given as more than 10,000. (updated July 12; source, source)

Ukrainian soldiers killed: 10,000 to 11,000

On June 10, top advisers to Zelenskyy estimated that 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the war began. U.S. intelligence officials have put the number at 5,500 to 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since the invasion. Also on June 10, a presidential adviser said that Ukraine was losing as many as 200 soldiers each day. (updated June 15; source, source)

Russian soldiers killed: 1,351 to 27,000

Ukraine has raised its estimate of Russian soldiers killed in the conflict to 27,000. NATO has estimated Russian troop losses at between 7,000 and 15,000. Russian officials earlier claimed 1,351 troop losses, though spokesman Dimitry Peskov said there have been “significant losses of troops, and it’s a huge tragedy for us.” (updated May 25; source, source)

Russian generals killed: 8 to 13

A retired Russian general was reportedly shot down over Luhansk in late May — by Ukrainian counts the 13th Russian general to be killed in Ukraine. Previously, the Defense Intelligence Agency reported that between eight and 10 Russian generals have been killed in Ukraine. Grid’s Tom Nagorski and Joshua Keating previously reported on the possible explanations for this “inconceivable” toll: poor communications and command-and-control structures within the Russian military. (updated May 25; source, source)

Total displaced Ukrainians: at least 12 million

There are more than 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees reported in other European countries currently. U.N. data indicates that more than 9.5 million have crossed the border since the start of the war, but millions have returned home, largely from Poland, as Nikhil Kumar and Kseniia Lisnycha reported this week. The International Organization for Migration’s latest survey of internally displaced Ukrainians, in late June, found more Ukrainians returning home from within Ukraine, but more than 6 million remain displaced. (updated July 20; source, source)

Internally displaced Ukrainians: 6.2 million

An overview of the violence

Attacks on healthcare facilities: 370

Global food markets: Wheat prices decrease 11 percent since invasion, after weeks of fluctuation

Grid coverage this week

• Why Vladimir Putin is going to Iran (July 19)
• ‘They thought we were crazy’: Why millions of Ukrainian refugees are coming home (July 18)
• Russia’s bright, shiny anti-sanctions weapon: Inside the billion-dollar business of ‘blood gold’ (July 15)
• Hope in the time of war: Famous Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov reflects on Russia’s brutal invasion (July 14)

Learn more: Grid’s 360s on the Ukraine War

• 360: What led to Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II
• 360: Casualty of war in Ukraine: The global food supply
• 360: War in Ukraine: How we got here — and what may come next
• 360: Russia’s billionaires: Who they are, what they own — and can they influence Vladimir Putin?
• 360: Why danger still looms at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants