President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed on Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war with Russia since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
President Zelenskiy revealed for the first time the number of soldiers killed by Russian forces since the 2022 invasion, in a departure from Kiev’s reticence on publicizing casualty figures.
Lecture on “Ukraine”. The president spoke at the “2024” forum held in Kiev on Sunday. Said According to the Associated Press, “31,000 Ukrainian servicemen have died in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000, not what Putin and his gang of deceivers are lying about. But nevertheless… , each of these losses is a great sacrifice for us.”
President Zelenskiy said he would not reveal how many soldiers have been injured or missing in the past two years. He also said the government did not fully know the number of civilians killed by the Russians, but suggested the number was “tens of thousands.”
“We don’t know how many civilians they killed. We don’t,” he said, noting that hard numbers on civilian deaths likely won’t be determined until the war is over. .
According to the latest information report At least 30,457 civilians have been killed or injured since the conflict erupted into full-scale war in February 2022, according to the United Nations Human Rights Observatory in Ukraine. This estimate puts the death toll at 10,582 and the number of injured at 19,875.
20,000 Ukrainian men of military age flee the country to avoid draft, and another 20,000 are arrested at the borderhttps://t.co/YeCwtjy8RT
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 18, 2023
Contrary to President Zelenskiy’s claims on Sunday, new york times In August, it was revealed that around 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in action, with an additional 100,000 to 120,000 wounded.
The report, which quotes U.S. defense officials, consists mostly of estimates from before Ukraine’s “counteroffensive,” which began in June, during which both sides suffered “significant casualties.” It is reported that he left.
The report claimed that Russia suffered around 300,000 casualties during the so-called “special military operation,” with an estimated 120,000 soldiers killed and another 170,000 to 180,000 wounded.
The Russian government has also avoided publishing specific casualty figures for much of the war, with the latest figures released in January last year claiming that only 6,000 soldiers died in the first year of the invasion. ing.
On Saturday, Russian independent news outlet Media Zona reported that some 83,000 Russian soldiers are likely to have died since February 2022, citing statistical analysis of Russia’s inheritance claims database.
Mr. Zelensky’s claim that 31,000 soldiers were killed was an attempt to assure war-weary Western allies that his country was still capable of a complete victory against a much larger Russian army. , while imploring European and American politicians to continue funding the war.
However, concerns appear to be growing among Europeans about Ukraine’s chances of success on the battlefield after the counterattack failed to yield any significant victories, with a survey of 12 EU countries showing that Ukraine is likely to succeed on the battlefield. It turned out that only 10 percent said they had a chance of success. Nearly four in 10 people who believe Ukraine can win the war believe a negotiated settlement is the most likely outcome.
senator @JDVance1: Stalling on $60 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine will not “fundamentally change the reality” on the groundhttps://t.co/B65wMLJgBP
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 18, 2024
