Russian opposition media have corroborated reports of over 43,000 Russian soldiers perishing in the conflict, including thousands of officers.
This grim reality underscores the toll exacted by the war, with actual losses likely surpassing official figures.
A “Big Loss”
“Each person is a great loss for us. Thirty-one thousand Ukrainian servicemen have perished in this war. Not 300 thousand or 150 thousand, as Putin lies. But each loss is a big loss for us. Russians – 180 thousand perished.”
“In total, the losses of the dead and wounded in the Russian Federation amount to up to 500, including the wounded. Ukrainians – 31 thousand. I won’t say how many are wounded because Russia will know how many have left the battlefield,” Zelenskyy said.
The President also noted that there are a number of people who are termed missing Ukrainian citizens who may have been kidnapped or killed.
But these estimates won’t be announced until they can be certain.
“Previous exchanges showed that a few guys who went missing have returned alive. We don’t know how many civilians they killed (in the occupied territories – ed.). We will find out when we finish with Russia,” Zelensky explained.
