The Ukrainian military has reportedly lost 70,000 soldiers to death and another 35,000 to disappearance in its war with Russia, according to confidential data allegedly shared by Ukraine's General Staff with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A Ukrainian news outlet, citing this data, claimed on Thursday that the total number of irrecoverable losses stands at approximately 105,000 servicemen when accounting for both the dead and missing. The outlet further asserted that 100,000 soldiers had been killed in action.
“Unfortunately, our irrecoverable losses in the war amount to, according to the data that the General Staff transmitted to the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, if you count the dead and missing together, they amount to about 105,000 servicemen,” a journalist stated while referencing the claims.
The reporter cited a recently released report by an international daily, which had also drawn from leaked intelligence memos detailing Ukrainian casualties.
This report estimated that Kyiv had suffered an astounding 500,000 troop losses, with “at least 60,000 to 100,000 believed to be dead and perhaps a further 400,000 too injured in the ongoing fight.”
The claims, however, were dismissed by President Zelensky and Ukrainian leadership, who refrained from confirming the figures.
“Someone recently gave information in the American media that 80,000 Ukrainians have been killed. But I want to tell you that no, less. Much less,” Zelensky said in response to the reported data.
Throughout the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Kyiv has largely refrained from disclosing its casualty figures, mirroring the secretive approach of Moscow.
The only official acknowledgment came in February this year, when Zelensky disclosed the deaths of 31,000 soldiers.
The Russian Ministry of Defence earlier claimed that Ukraine had suffered around 500,000 troop losses, including both dead and injured, since February 2022.
However, this figure has been strongly contested by Ukraine.
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