Zelenskyy says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia invaded 2 years ago

Zelenskyy says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia invaded 2 years ago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that, in the past two years since Russia started a full-scale invasion, 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers lost their lives in action.

Zelenskyy mentioned at the "Ukraine Year 2024" forum in Kyiv, "In this war, 31,000 Ukrainian military personnel have lost their lives. It's not 300,000, not 150,000, not whatever Putin and his deceptive circle have been falsely claiming. However, each of these losses is a significant sacrifice for us."

The Ukrainian leader said he won't share how many soldiers are hurt or missing. He also mentioned that "tens of thousands of civilians" died in areas taken by the enemy, but exact numbers won't be known until the war is over.

"We don't know how many of our civilians they killed. We don't," he stated.

This is the first time that Kyiv has acknowledged the toll of its losses since Russia launched its full-scale war on February 24, 2022.

Russia has shared limited official numbers regarding casualties. The latest information from the Defense Ministry, released in January 2023, indicated slightly over 6,000 deaths. However, reports from U.S. and U.K. officials suggest a considerably higher number.

In December 2023, a US intelligence report shared with the public that approximately 315,000 Russian soldiers were wounded or killed in Ukraine. If correct, this would represent 87% of the roughly 360,000 troops Russia had before the war, the report said.

According to the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona, around 75,000 Russian men lost their lives in the years 2022 and 2023 while fighting in the war.

A collaborative report by Mediazona and Meduza, both independent Russian news outlets, suggests that Russia's losses in Ukraine are not decreasing. The investigation indicates that Moscow is experiencing approximately 120 casualties daily.