Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed on Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives in action during the two-year conflict since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
Contradicting estimates provided by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, Zelenskyy emphasized that the actual number of casualties is significantly lower than what has been portrayed by Russian authorities.
Addressing the “Ukraine. Year 2024” forum in Kyiv, Zelenskyy stated, “31,000 Ukrainian military personnel have been killed in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000, not whatever Putin and his deceitful circle have been lying about. But nevertheless, each of these losses is a great sacrifice for us.”
While Zelenskyy refrained from disclosing the exact count of troops wounded or missing, he acknowledged the loss of “tens of thousands of civilians” in occupied areas of Ukraine. However, he noted that precise figures would not be available until the conflict subsides.
“We don’t know how many of our civilians they killed. We don’t,” Zelenskyy asserted.
This announcement marks the first time that Kyiv has officially confirmed the number of casualties since Russia initiated its full-scale war on February 24, 2022.
Meanwhile, Russia has provided minimal official casualty figures. While the Defense Ministry’s latest data, published in January 2023, indicated just over 6,000 deaths, reports from U.S. and U.K. officials suggest a significantly higher number.
