At least 400,000 Russian troops have already returned from the front, investigation finds

Independent outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe estimates that at least four hundred thousand Russian troops have already returned from the front to civilian life, a figure reached by combining official veteran-registration data with their own analysis. Experts told the paper the true number could run higher, with one analyst putting the plausible range between five hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand once every category of return is counted. Novaya Gazeta Europe reports that badly wounded soldiers were among the first to come home, with at least three hundred thousand estimated to have been demobilized for wounds by the end of last year. Should the war end without a radical change in its nature, the outlet estimates another seven hundred thousand combat veterans could eventually return.

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