On March 16, Forward Defense nonresident senior fellow Margarita Konaev was quoted in an article in Stars and Stripes titled “Ukraine’s combat losses strike a painful chord with US military veterans.” Konaev explains the difficulties in tracking the number of combatant deaths on either side combined with the incentive to underestimate the number of their own casualties.
Military casualties are inherently difficult to track, especially in a conflict like this where the information front is so important.
Margarita Konaev
Forward Defense leads the Atlantic Council’s US and global defense programming, developing actionable recommendations for the United States and its allies and partners to compete, innovate, and navigate the rapidly evolving character of warfare. Through its work on US defense policy and force design, the military applications of advanced technology, space security, strategic deterrence, and defense industrial revitalization, it informs the strategies, policies, and capabilities that the United States will need to deter, and, if necessary, prevail in major-power conflict.
