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Bloomberg

Kyiv says fatalities among its soldiers since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 have reached 43,000, a rare estimate much lower than a figure offered by US President-elect Donald Trump.
The toll was revealed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in a statement on the social media platform X on Sunday, hours after Trump claimed that Ukraine’s had “ridiculously lost” 400,000 soldiers.
Still, it’s unclear if Trump was referring to wounded troops as well as those killed. Zelensky said there had been 370,000 cases of “medical assistance for the wounded” on the battlefield, including light or repeat injuries. About half of the Ukrainian soldiers wounded in action have later returned to service, he said.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, the morning after a meeting in Paris with Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump provided an estimate of casualties for both Ukrainian and Russian troops in the almost three-year old war.


“Close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead,” Trump said.
Russia has not put an official figure on its losses, but independent media outlet Mediazona and the Russian service of the BBC – working from publicly available data – have estimated they have lost more than 82,000 soldiers.
Some analysts believe the true figures on both sides could be higher.
Trump called for an “immediate ceasefire” followed by negotiations, adding that Zelensky “would like to make a deal” to end the war. While Ukraine’s government doesn’t deny it seeks peace, it has repeatedly stressed the necessity of obtaining meaningful guarantees from its allies, led by US.
“When we talk about an effective peace with Russia, we should first of all talk about effective guarantees of peace,” Zelensky said in Sunday’s X post.
The war “cannot simply end with a piece of paper and a few signatures,” Zelensky said. “A ceasefire without guarantees can be reignited at any moment.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also responded to Trump’s social media post, repeating Moscow’s message that it’s open to talks but referring to “conditions” outlined in July by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
That included “taking account the realities emerging ‘on the ground,” Peskov said, at a time Russian forces have been making steady advances through parts of eastern Ukraine.
According to open source data, Russian forces control just under 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory and have advanced through the Donetsk region over the past two months at their fastest rate since March 2022.
The updated fatality estimate from Zelensky implies that about 12,000 service members have died since February, when Ukraine’s leader officially estimated the death toll at 31,000.
For most of the war, Kyiv’s official position has been to call for a full withdrawal of Russian troops from internationally recognised Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, as a condition for peace talks. Moscow, too, has demanded heavy concessions from Ukraine as a condition for even beginning talks.
US arms and other military support are vital to Ukraine’s efforts to fend off invading Russian forces, and US President Joe Biden has been surging assistance to Ukraine before leaving office.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday announced nearly US$1 billion more in longer-term weapons support to Ukraine. Austin spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Sunday about the status of the war and US military backing, the Pentagon said.
Additional reporting by Associated Press and Agence France-Presse


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Ukraine war

Zelensky says Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers – far lower than Trump’s claim

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky honouring Ukraine’s war dead. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via EPA=EFE  

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian service members undergoing rehabilitation. Photo: Sputnik via Reuters

Zelensky wants ‘enduring’ peace, Trump will ‘probably’ reduce Ukraine aid

From left, US president-elect Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Saturday. Photo: dpa

Ukrainian soldiers wounded on the front line in Donetsk on a medical bus in the Donetsk region, Ukraine on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Pro-Ukrainian activists demonstrate in front of the White House in Washington on November 17. Photo: AFP

A volunteer paramedic treats a wounded Ukrainian soldier during an evacuation in a medical bus to a hospital, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Trump shakes hands with Zelensky at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Trump asks China to help bring Ukraine peace, says he ‘had communication’ with Xi recently

Ukrainian civilians take part in military training on a shooting range in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walks with French President Emmanuel Macro and US president-elect Donald Trump before a trilateral meeting in Paris on Saturday. Photo: Ukraine Presidency/Ukrainian Pre/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Ukraine’s Zelensky says Putin to use North Korea troops as ‘cannon fodder’ in war

A Russian serviceman fires a D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in the border area of Kursk region, Russia. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry via AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang in June. File photo: TNS

Debris of a US-made long-range ATACMS missile, shot down in Russia’s Kursk region on November 23. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry via EPA-EFE 

Lavrov signals Russia’s readiness to use ‘any means’ in Ukraine conflict

A heavily-modified Russian T-80 tank in Donetsk region, Ukraine. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry via AP

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry via EPA-EFE

Parts of a ballistic missile which Russia used in a strike towards Dnipro city, Ukraine. Photo: AFP

Ukraine war: Putin relative accidentally reveals secret figure on missing Russian soldiers

Russian conscripts queue before their departure for garrisons in Bataysk in the Rostov region on November 16, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Russian deputy defence minister Anna Tsivilyova, the reported daughter of President Vladimir Putin’s cousin, is seen in an official portrait. Photo: Russian defence ministry

Russian conscripts called up for military service walk to a bus in Bataysk, in Russia’s Rostov region, in November. Photo: Reuters

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US President-elect Donald Trump says Ukraine has ‘ridiculously lost’ 400,000 soldiers in the war to date


US President-elect Donald Trump says Ukraine has ‘ridiculously lost’ 400,000 soldiers in the war to date.
