Western media had placed the total many thousands higher. NATO for one, has estimated that after four months the total could be as high as 15,000. In terms of the severity of human losses, compare this to the official Russian figure of 14,453 for fallen soldiers over the full 10-year span of its war in Afghanistan.
The use of any non-official numbers in describing casualties is a criminal offence. To comply with the law, they adhere to official statements. It’s evident that the Russian government prefers to keep silence on the topic.
But dead soldiers cannot be hidden forever. The families will be notified sooner or later. Human losses will eventually become the actual reality check and truth will be exposed.
Even though opinion polls in Russia are inaccurate for many reasons, Western observers still insist that they give a rough indication of the populations’ feelings of the war. Since the people are being grossly misled about the war, it’s no surprise that they’re supportive of the “special military operation” of which they are “proud”.
(Read more: Estonian Life No. 25 2022 paber- and PDF/digi)
Laas Leivat, Toronto
