During the six months of the war in Ukraine, Russia lost more than 900 elite specialists, it took years and rains to prepare, king BBC Russian Service.

In particular, according to journalists, it was possible to establish the death of 151 servicemen of the GRU special forces, almost every fourth of them is an officer (22%). The publication according to the statistics of uncountable losses, but makes it possible to estimate the number of dead special forces soldiers.

The authors of the investigation provide data on the loss of the find. list of confirmed dead Russian residents that the BBC meets with Mediazona and volunteers based on outcomes.

An analysis of published obituaries showed that the 22nd Guards Special Forces Brigade suffered the increased consumption during the invasions in Ukraine. At least 30 people of the tragedy brigade, including four officers – company commanders (at the same time, there are only four special forces companies in the brigade).

According to Michael Kofman, an expert at the Center for Naval Analysis, for every death in the Russian army during the war in Ukraine, there are about 3.5 wounded, writes the BBC. Journalists found that at least 130 people from the 22nd GRU special forces brigade could have died or been injured. This may be equivalent to the complete failure of one of the special forces companies, the authors of the investigation write.

The exact number of special forces detachments is forbidden. Journalists note that during the war in Chechnya, the reconnaissance companies of the GRU spetsnaz numbered 45–70 people, and if they are assembled according to the mechanism of such a frequency, it is impossible that half of the reconnaissance company of the brigade was withdrawn from the composition.

Other units of the GRU special forces also suffered losses during the war in Ukraine. For example, according to the publication, the 24th Guards Brigade lost at least 21 people, including four officers. It is also known about 26 dead prisoners of war of the 3rd Guards Special Forces Brigade, including five officers. In Ukraine, the deputy commander of the 16th Guards Special Forces Brigade with the rank of lieutenant colonel, the chief of staff of the same brigade with the rank of major, as well as the company commander with the rank of captain, died.

The authors of the investigation write that a senior special forces officer may be the most sensitive for the Russian army. In the event that ordinary specialists drop out, a fighter of a different specialty who came to replace him can be retrained in a few weeks, when the commander of a GRU special forces company dies, in order to replace him only with an officer of the same military specialty.

It takes at least four years to train a sample lieutenant. And in order to lead a company, the lieutenant must gain experience and go all the way to the captain, which he collected for about four more years. In total, it feels like at least eight years of preparation.

Also, from open sources, journalists discovered 245 employees of the National Guard, most of them employees of special forces (special forces, SOBR and OMON). Almost every fourth of them had a boss’s rank. At least 16 dead National Guardsmen have signs of a special deviation, a maroon beret. The Russian Guard has established that those who have passed the selection for the right to wear such a beret are the elite of the special forces. The largest number of personnel was carried by the 25th special forces detachment “Bars” from Kazan. There are 10 employees in Ukraine, including two of his officers.

We also know about the losses in the special forces “Vityaz”: there are at least seven dead, including two officers. Service in this detachment is considered especially prestigious, the standards of training of fighters are among the highest.

There was also a tragedy of about 20 FSB and FSO officers. Basically – employees of the border troops who are subordinate to the FSB. Among the dead and officers of the most secret units.

One fifth of all identified representatives of the cattle paratroopers, the newspaper writes. They faced a hard struggle in the first weeks of the war. The largest number of dead in the 331st Guards Regiment of the Airborne Forces from Kostroma: there are only officially more than 80 dead, including the regiment commander and 20 more officers.

Among the Marines, the 810th Guards Brigade, based in the annexed Crimea, suffered a sharp decline. The Marines lost at least 56 people, including his two brigade commanders: Aleksey Sharov died in March, and Sergey Kens, who replaced him, died in early autumn.

The BBC also has information about 67 Russian military pilots who died during the invasion of Ukraine. The publication of the navy that the crew of aircraft and helicopters are piece specialists and the elite of any army in the world. The training of one sniper pilot can take 15-17 years and costs $12-14 million.