By Country / Russia
Soviet WWII Military Losses Estimated At Nearly 9 Million
May 08, 2007
The seige of Leningrad (undated file photo) (official site)
The announced was made to the daily "Gazeta" by General Aleksandr Kirilin, director of the armed forces' commemorative center.
The paper says the figure represents an increase of 200,000 over an estimate issued by the Defense Ministry in 1993.
Estimates put at more than 25 million the total number of Soviet civilian and military war dead.
Several European states are commemorating the end of the war today, but in Russia celebrations are held on May 9.
(AFP)