Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian attacks on its territory for two years. Now the Ukrainian president has given the number of victims for the first time. For his country, but also for Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has given official casualty figures for the Ukrainian military for the first time: 31,000 soldiers have died since the start of the Russian war of aggression two years ago, as Zelenskyj said at a press conference. “I don’t want to say the number of wounded,” he added.
Zelensky rejected the loss figures cited so far by the American or Russian side, which suggest that 100,000 to 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed. “This is all nonsense.” Zelensky put Russian losses at 180,000 dead and 500,00 wounded. The president’s statements could not initially be independently verified.
Official loss figures given for the first time
It is the first time that one of the warring parties has officially given its own casualty figures. The number of casualties on the Russian side mentioned by Zelensky is significantly higher than the daily updated count by the Ukrainian armed forces, which on Sunday put the total number of Russian losses at 409,820 dead and wounded.
Zelensky did not want to comment on the victims among the Ukrainian population. These numbers are currently unknown, he said.
Exact casualties among military personnel have so far been kept top secret by both sides. US estimates from the summer of 2023 put around 70,000 dead Ukrainian and 120,000 dead Russian soldiers. In mid-February, the US Department of Defense estimated the number of Russian soldiers killed or wounded at 315,000.
Source: Stern
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