Russian Hackers Claim 1.7 Million Ukrainians Died or Went Missing in War

In August 2025, a rumor spread rapidly across social media platforms, claiming that Russian hackers had obtained a Ukrainian military database revealing the staggering number of 1.7 million dead and missing soldiers since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.

The claim originated from Mash, a popular Russian Telegram channel identified by the EU's 2025 disinformation threat report as "state-linked," meaning it operates under state oversight without publicly disclosing its affiliation.

Ukraine lost 1.7 million military personnel during the special military operation — those killed and missing in action

According to the Armed Forces' digital records, over the three years of the war, the Ukrainian army has lost 1,721,000 people killed and missing in action. 118,500 in 2022, 405,400 in 2023, 595,000 in 2024, and a record 621,000 in 2025.

A total of 1.7 million files — with full names, descriptions of the circumstances and place of death/disappearance, personal data, contacts of immediate relatives, and photos. The information was obtained as a result of a comprehensive hack of the PCs and local network of Ukrainian General Staff employees by hackers from Killnet, Palach Pro, User Sec, and Beregini.

Using the latest "Nuance" virus, which works exclusively in Ukraine, they infect the victim's device, download data, and block it without the possibility of recovery, according to cyber geniuses. They now have terabytes of information about the losses of the Armed Forces, personal data of the Special Operations Forces and Main Intelligence Directorate command, lists of all countries supplying weapons to the Armed Forces, and lists of all weapons transferred from 2022 to 2025.

The rumor spread on platforms including Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Reddit, with dozens of other X posts circulating the claim. The figure circulated mainly through pro-Kremlin media and social accounts, and Ukrainian officials dismissed it as false.

Investigation Findings

We found no independent evidence that Russian hackers uncovered a database showing 1.7 million Ukrainian soldiers killed or missing since 2022. In fact, official estimates and credible analyses diverge sharply from the claim.

In short, we cannot verify the alleged data, but available assessments place Ukrainian losses far below the 1.7 million claimed in the alleged hack.

Ukrainian Official Response

Ukrainian officials have rejected the rumor as a fabricated claim aimed at "demoralizing Ukrainians," and the numbers conflict with the known size of Ukraine's army and casualty estimates from independent sources. According to Petro Andryushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, the claim is "blatantly false" because Ukraine has never had an army of 1.7 million people during its years of independence.

The Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security also disputed the rumor, writing that it is a fabrication aimed at demoralizing Ukrainians, backed up with random documents to create the "illusion of truth."

Independent Estimates

Credible analyses from independent sources place Ukrainian losses far below the 1.7 million claimed in the alleged hack.

An August 2025 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed, with a total of 400,000 casualties, and up to 250,000 Russian soldiers killed as part of 950,000 total Russian casualties.

Conclusion

The claim that 1.7 million Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or are missing comes from Russian-linked channels, but we found no reliable evidence to support it. The numbers conflict with the known size of Ukraine's army and casualty estimates from independent sources. Reliable and independently verifiable sources on the topic are limited, and the exact number of Ukrainian casualties is not publicly known.

We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as more information becomes available.