Confidential data from the Russian statistics agency "Rosstat" revealed that approximately 400,000 Russians who participated in the fighting in Ukraine have been killed since the war began in 2022.

Bloomberg confirmed that the leaked data is based on millions of death certificates and includes the residence, ages, and places of death of the deceased. According to the agency, the data was obtained by the Belarusian opposition group "Cyber Partisans" in collaboration with the Ukrainian hacking group "Silent Crow," before sharing it with Bloomberg and a limited number of media outlets.

The two groups announced their responsibility for breaching the agency's digital infrastructure, stating that they accessed internal systems, databases, and confidential statistical documents. According to information related to the operation, the breach involved approximately 25,000 computers belonging to the agency, with nearly 23 terabytes of data extracted, including statistical records, administrative documents, and data on deaths and their causes.

The records for men aged 18 to 49 showed a notable geographical disparity; deaths related to combat accounted for about one-third of total deaths in remote and Siberian regions such as Buryatia and Tuva, compared to about 10% in Moscow and St. Petersburg. This reflects the uneven burdens of war across regions, particularly in distant and less economically prosperous areas, which have been a significant source of recruitment.

For its part, Rosstat acknowledged that its infrastructure had been subjected to cyberattacks, but denied any evidence of breaches of the main databases or leaks of confidential information, confirming that technical measures were taken to address the attacks in cooperation with the relevant authorities.

The two groups posted messages on the agency's website indicating the breach, in a move aimed at revealing the scale of the operation and pressuring Russian government institutions.

This revelation comes amid a decline in Russian statistical transparency following restrictions imposed by authorities on the publication of several demographic indicators, including death data and their causes, making the leaked records an important source of information on human losses.

The data highlights one of the most sensitive aspects of the war within Russia, as its costs, according to the records, extend to varying demographic and social transformations across regions.