A relative of Russian President Vladimir Putin has inadvertently disclosed sensitive information about Russia’s war casualties in Ukraine, revealing that tens of thousands of families have sought assistance in locating missing soldiers.
Ana Tsivilyova, who is reportedly the daughter of Putin’s cousin and serves as a deputy defense minister, accidentally revealed during a meeting with lawmakers that 48,000 DNA samples from relatives of missing soldiers had been entered into the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ database. Tsivilyova, who was appointed to a government veterans’ fund in 2023 and later promoted to deputy defense minister, made the comment in a video published by the opposition Telegram channel Astra.
“We’ve already registered 48,000,” she said, referring to the appeals from families seeking to track missing soldiers. This comment revealed figures that are typically kept under wraps by the Russian government, which closely guards data on battlefield losses.
Following Tsivilyova’s remark, Andrei Kartapolov, head of Russia’s defense committee, quickly intervened, emphasizing that the numbers were classified and urging lawmakers to refrain from publishing them. “This is sensitive, closed information,” Kartapolov said.
While Tsivilyova’s revelation sheds light on the number of families affected, Western intelligence suggests that the actual toll of Russian casualties in Ukraine is far higher. In fact, some estimates claim that Russia has suffered more than 700,000 dead or wounded, a staggering figure that surpasses the Soviet Union’s losses in the decade-long Afghanistan war.
November 2023 was reportedly the deadliest month for Russian forces since the beginning of the invasion, with daily casualties estimated at 1,500. This increasing loss of life comes as Putin faces mounting pressure, both domestically and internationally, over the war’s ongoing toll.
The Russian government’s reluctance to publicly disclose casualty numbers is seen as a strategy to avoid widespread domestic dissent, keeping ordinary Russians unaware of the true cost of the ongoing conflict.
