Regarding casualties and deserters. Remember that deserters would possibly be counted by the Russians as “missing in action (MIA),” then one adds in the wounded in action (WIA) and killed in action (KIA).
4,500+ Russian KIA, may be an over estimate, but as a total number of casualties, it definitely makes sense to me. I’m reluctant to accept 4,500+ on the many historical studies I’ve read over the decades that it is very hard to estimate the “other guy’s” casualties. My prime example is the number of planes claimed as shot down in various theaters during WW2; post war studies of records of number of losses by the opposing air forces revealed that more planes were claimed by the respectful sides than were actually shot down. One thing I will state, is that if the Russian casualties, esp KIA, are correct, Putin is facing significant unrest by the Russian population
Good points. Realistically I think we can say Russian casualties are “a few thousand.”
I don’t think anyone has a number that is much more precise than that.