President Zelensky disclosed for the first time that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
This contrasts with figures from other sources, including a New York Times report of 70,000-100,000 casualties.
“We don’t know how many of our civilians they killed. We don’t,” Zelensky said.
Russia is also suspected to have suffered heavy losses but does not provide details.
Zelensky did not give casualty numbers for wounded or missing troops.
While the UN estimates over 30,000 Ukrainian civilian deaths, Zelensky said the real figure won’t be known until the war ends.
His disclosure of military deaths comes as Ukraine seeks continued Western support, but concerns are rising in Europe about Ukraine’s ability to win militarily against Russia given the failure of its counteroffensive to gain ground.
