Around 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of Russia’s invasion in February, Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed in a rare update on casualty numbers.
The Ukrainian president said in post on social media that 370,000 others had been injured, but said the figure included troops who had been hurt on more than once occasion, BBC News reports.
The war-time leader also claimed that 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, with 550,000 wounded, though none of the figures can’t be verified.
Zelensky last issued an update on his forces’ casualty figures back in February, when he said the Ukrainian deathtoll was 31,000.
He may have felt compelled to put out official numbers after Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform claiming that 600,000 Russians had been killed or wounded, while Ukraine had lost 400,000, without providing a source for the numbers.
The incoming US President also criticised Russia’s presence in Syria, as he called for Kyiv and Moscow to come to the negotiating table and end the fighting.
Dmitry Peskov, the official spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, pushed back on Trump’s comments, saying: “As for figures cited on losses on both sides, obviously, they were given in a Ukrainian interpretation and reflect Ukraine’s official stance,” Russian state news agency TASS reported.
“The actual figures for losses are completely different: Ukrainian losses exponentially surpass the losses on the Russian side,” he added.
Zelensky also reaffirmed his desire for a “just peace” that would see Ukraine given security guarantees against Russia renewing its attempts to seize territory.
“A cease-fire without guarantees [means conflict] can be reignited at any moment, as Putin has already done so,” the Ukrainian leader said in the social media post.
“To guarantee that there will be no more Ukrainian casualties, we must guarantee the reliability of peace and not turn a blind eye to the occupation,” he added.
Accurate figures about losses have been closely guarded by Moscow and Kyiv, and both are thought to understate the death toll the almost three-year long war has brought.
Various and varying estimates have been produced on how many have been killed or wounded from both sides throughout the war, though there is a general consensus among analysts that Russia’s casualty figures are considerably higher due in no small part to the notorious “meat grinder” tactics they employ.
Reuters recently reported that Putin’s army had 315,000 dead and injured troops, quoting an unnamed US intelligence source.
The figure was said to be nearly 90% of the number Russia deployed when its full-scale invasion began.
Meanwhile, a New York Times quoted US officials in a report in August who estimated that 70,000 Ukraine soldiers had been killed, and as many as 120,000 wounded.
