More than 70,000 Russian soldiers have died in the war in Ukraine. The BBC looked at names and information from Russia. They found the names of 70,112 soldiers who died. But there may be more dead soldiers that they do not know about. Many of the dead soldiers were volunteers. These are people who chose to join the army. They did not have to join. Many volunteers are dying in the war.

The volunteers are often from small towns. They do not have good jobs at home. They join the army because it pays more money. They also get other good things, like help with children and less taxes. But the war is very hard. Many soldiers die. Some soldiers say they did not understand what they were agreeing to when they joined the army.

The Russian army is using many soldiers to fight. They send them to fight even if they do not have good training or equipment. Some soldiers die the first day they fight. The Russian government wants more people to join the army. They offer money and other good things to get people to join. Some people from other countries also join the Russian army. They hope to get Russian citizenship if they live through the war.