MEĐUNARODNI PROBLEMI

Composition of Casualties in the War in Ukraine as an Element of War Propaganda

Pérez Gil Luis V. (University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna; Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies, Madrid, Spain), lvperezg@ull.es

The war in Ukraine is the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. In 2026, it entered its fifth year of large-scale hostilities, characterized by the massive use of long-range fire, missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles of all types. These munitions are deployed along the front line and in the immediate rear, creating extensive areas on both sides known as “kill zones” and almost completely blocking mobility. They are also used extensively at the strategic level to undermine the enemy’s will to win. This scenario, at all three levels of combat – strategic, operational, and tactical – results in numerous casualties, but unlike in previous conflicts, the majority of casualties are combatants, with comparatively few civilians. In a war of attrition, both sides are careful to suppress their own casualty figures while inflating those of the enemy their public statements toward promoting their objectives in the conflict. Therefore, it is essential to undertake an analysis and draw appropriate conclusions about this conflict, particularly regarding the impact of casualties on the cognitive domain.

Keywords: War in Ukraine, casualties in conflicts, civilian victims of conflicts, war of attrition, war propaganda