At least 2,500 residents of occupied Crimea have been killed in war against Ukraine. PHOTO
The "GRUZ 200" project’s database has confirmed the deaths of 2,500 residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea who took part in the war against Ukraine on Russia’s side. Among them are former Ukrainian military personnel and law enforcement officers, including those suspected of torturing civilians in the Kherson region.
This is reported in an investigation by Krym.Realii, based on the updated "GRUZ 200" project database, as reported by Censor.NET. The relevant information was gathered from open sources, including statements by Russian officials, obituaries, posts by relatives and data from Russian state registers.
Where the highest number of fatalities occurred
According to the project’s data, the highest number of Russian military personnel from Crimea who have died was recorded in Sevastopol – at least 640 people. This is followed by the Feodosia district with 276 deaths and Kerch, where 271 cases have been confirmed.
The highest number of confirmed deaths occurred in 2024 – 753. For 2025, 729 deaths were recorded, and for 2023 – 466.
Among the deceased whose status has been established, the largest group consists of contract soldiers – 518 people. A further 296 prisoners who fought on the side of the Russian Federation and 258 regular Russian military personnel have also been identified.
The report states that the database is not exhaustive. Some of the deceased were previously considered missing in action. Their deaths were confirmed using the Russian register of inheritance cases and data from the Russian Federation’s civil registry authorities.
Among the dead are those suspected of torturing Ukrainians
Journalists have identified 23 cases of the deaths of former Ukrainian military personnel from Crimea who were accused of desertion and who subsequently fought on Russia’s side.
Among the dead is former SSU Major-General Volodymyr Liapkin. According to the Ukrainian investigation, between 2022 and 2024 he served as deputy head of the occupying ‘State Security Service’ in the Kherson region and was involved in repressions against the civilian population.
In 2025, he was notified that he was under suspicion of collaboration. According to available information, Liapkin was killed in March 2026 in the Kherson region whilst fighting as part of the Russian ‘Bars-33’ unit.
The updated database also includes the former Ukrainian police officer Volodymyr Sharudylov. According to the investigation, following the occupation of part of the Kherson region, he joined the Russian-established police station in Novotroitske. He was suspected of involvement in the persecution and torture of local residents.
He subsequently found himself in occupied Crimea, from where he set off to fight against Ukraine. He was killed in December 2024.
Among the confirmed fatalities is Robert Shaheev, the former commander of the Ukrainian submarine ‘Zaporizhzhia’. Following the occupation of Crimea in 2014, he transferred to the Russian Federation’s Black Sea Fleet. In 2024, a Ukrainian court sentenced him in absentia to 13 years’ imprisonment for treason and desertion. In August 2026, he was killed in Sevastopol when an explosive device detonated.
