Russian Defense Ministry: Ukrainian army losses exceed 23 thousand people

The irretrievable losses of the army and national guard of Ukraine, as well as foreign mercenaries, amount to 23,367 people. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry Igor Konashenkov during a briefing, Interfax reports.

According to him, more than four thousand soldiers have died in Mariupol alone as of April 16, and another 1,464 have surrendered. Those who remain are blocked on the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant, Konashenkov said.

In total, according to the Russian department, at the time of the encirclement on March 11, the Ukrainian group in the city numbered approximately 8,100 people.

During the briefing, Konashenkov also reported that Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane in the Odessa region, which was delivering a large consignment of Western weapons.

The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died during the war. Another 10,000 or so servicemen were wounded.

During a war, it is impossible to quickly verify information that is disseminated even by official representatives of the conflicting parties.