Zelensky says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since start of Russia’s full-scale invasion

During a press conference at the “Ukraine. Year 2024.” forum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Zelensky didn’t provide information regarding the number of Ukrainian soldiers injured or missing.

The Ukrainian president also said that, according to his assessment, 180,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war. He added that, when including wounded soldiers, 500,000 was the total number of Russian casualties.

The Ukrainian authorities have not previously disclosed data on military losses. In December 2022, Mykhailo Podolyak, the advisor to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, said that 10,000-13,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed.

The last time Russian officials publicly announced the country’s military losses was in September 2022, when Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed.