Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action in the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Zelenskyy said that the number was far lower than estimates given by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government.

“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”, Zelenskyy said at the “Ukraine. Year 2024” forum in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian leader said that he wouldn’t disclose the number of troops that were wounded or missing. He also said that “tens of thousands of civilians” had been killed in occupied areas of Ukraine, but said that no exact figures would be available until the war was over.

  • theodewere@kbin.social
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    9 months ago

    there’s no reason to doubt him… Ukraine hasn’t tried any mindless, meat grinder offensives, and the front line hasn’t moved against Ukraine significantly since about the 6 month mark… there’s no reason to believe they’ve lost many more than that, while it’s easy to believe the Russians have lost 10 times that number or more… most of the Ukrainian casualties have been innocent civilians… babies, women, children, etc… the Russians have not shown themselves capable of defeating Ukrainian military units…

    • Hubi@feddit.de
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      9 months ago

      there’s no reason to believe they’ve lost many more than that

      While I do believe the official numbers that the Ukrainian government has released, it’s also important to note that these do not include military personnel that are missing in action. The actual number of dead is still unknown and likely will remain so until the war is over.

    • maness300@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      while it’s easy to believe the Russians have lost 10 times that number or more

      🥱

      This war is a fascinating case study with how easily people believe whatever they want with no information to back it up.

        • OleoSaccharum
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          9 months ago

          “WOW HOLY COW ARE YOU REALLY DOUBTING WESTERN PROPAGANDA???”

          Yes. I talk to Ukrainians, not people on Twitter pretending to be dogs.

          • theodewere@kbin.social
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            9 months ago

            all those Russian casualties are getting to you… it’s nice to see such desperation… seeing all those planes fall out of the sky must be a little shocking…

            • OleoSaccharum
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              9 months ago

              What are you talking about you delusional crybaby? The Ukrainian war effort is collapsing. Look at The Hill! Look at TIME, doofus!

              How do you think you lost a war while killing 10 Russians for every Ukrainian?

              By lying! It’s that simple!

              • theodewere@kbin.social
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                9 months ago

                you try so hard to be insulting, it just makes you seem small… and desperate… does that work where you’re from?

                • OleoSaccharum
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                  9 months ago

                  That is a funny reply to someone using insults more befitting of a kindergarten teacher than forum users arguing about a war. I am not even swearing at you, kiddo.

                  Do you need me to spoon feed you links from the New York Times talking about how they lost 850+ Ukrainian troops in Avdeevka?

            • OleoSaccharum
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              9 months ago

              You could at least keep up with the inconsistencies between Washington DC and Kiev’s narratives lol. It’s simply a statement of fact that not even the Pentagon or CIA can believe Ukrainian casualty claims.