Zelensky suggests ending 'hot phase' of war in exchange for NATO membership without occupied territories

Zelensky disputes media reports of 80,000 Ukrainian military casualties

December 2, 2024

By Ukraine

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During an interview with Kyodo News published on Dec. 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed reports in Western media that as many as 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during the full-scale war with Russia.

"Recently, some in, I believe, the American press reported that 80,000 Ukrainians had been killed. I want to tell you that, no, (the number of those killed is) less, much less," Zelensky said, while refusing to provide a detailed number of casualties.

"However, we have to be honest, we do not know how many Ukrainian have been killed on occupied territories of Ukraine," Zelensky added.

Zelensky's comments likely refer to the Wall Street Journal's claims published on Sept. 17 that 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died during the war, with a further 400,000 wounded.

Following the Wall Street Journal's reporting, Ukrainian lawmakers quickly disputed the claims with Roman Kostenko, secretary of the parliamentary defense committee, telling Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the numbers were "exaggerated." The lawmaker suggested that 50,000 soldiers killed could be an approximate figure, though he admitted he does not have the most accurate data and that even his number could be an overestimation.

The Wall Street Journal's reporting falls broadly in line with estimates published by the Economist on Nov. 26, claiming that between 60,000 to 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, and 400,000 injured.

Zelensky did not comment on the number of Ukrainian soldiers reportedly wounded in the war.

Ukraine has largely avoided commenting on its losses, though President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that 31,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed.

The exact figures for both sides are nearly impossible to establish as Kyiv and Moscow are secretive about their casualties. The last figure provided by Russian authorities was 5,937 killed soldiers as of September 2022.

In turn, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces put Russian overall losses at nearly 744,000 as of Dec. 2, a total the includes those killed, wounded, missing, and captured. The losses Russia suffered in the full-scale war are believed to be greater than during all the wars since 1945 combined.

Through open source research, journalists from Mediazona and BBC Russia, have identified the names of 80,973 Russian soldiers who died during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as of Nov. 29.

The number of daily Russian casualties continues to reach record highs, according to Ukraine's General Staff, with daily losses surpassing 2,000 for the first time on Nov. 29.

Russia also suffered record losses in military equipment and personnel in November in the war against Ukraine, Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported on Dec. 1. Nearly 46,000 Russian soldiers had been lost over the past month, while an estimated $3 billion in weapons and equipment had been damaged or destroyed.