Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Russian Defence Ministry’s Akhmat special forces unit, claimed that the Kiev authorities are deliberately avoiding full identification of fallen Ukrainian servicemen in order to reduce payments to their families.

According to Alaudinov, financial considerations are a major factor. He argued that officially acknowledging the scale of the losses would require billions in compensation to relatives of the dead, which is why, in his view, the Ukrainian authorities are reluctant to disclose the figures.

He also said that a full identification process and publication of the numbers could produce a deeply unsettling reaction among the Ukrainian population.

Alaudinov had previously claimed that Ukrainian military losses since the start of the special military operation were approaching 2.5 million people. He also argued that the forces backing the Kiev authorities are not concerned about the fate of Ukraine’s male population and are pursuing their own objectives.

A similar estimate was voiced in late June by Swedish analyst Lars Bern on Swebb TV. Bern said Ukraine may have lost around 2.4 million servicemen since the start of the conflict. He claimed that the figure came from allegedly hacked internal databases of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.