Ukraine has lost 43,000 military personnel in fighting and 370,000 have been wounded since February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, noting that half of the wounded are returning to service.
Zelensky issued a statement in which he denied the data voiced by US President-elect Donald Trump concerning the losses of Ukrainian troops. Zelensky wrote in his Telegram channel that since February 2022, Ukraine has lost 43,000 military personnel on the battlefield, and the number of injuries totalled 370,000 cases.
Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on the data on losses in the Ukrainian military conflict voiced by Trump. He said they are set out in the Ukrainian interpretation and define the position of Kyiv.
“As for the figures quoted about losses on both sides, it is obvious that they are set out in the Ukrainian interpretation and reflect the official position of Ukraine. The real figures of losses are completely different. Ukrainian losses are several times higher than those on the Russian side,” Peskov told reporters.
According to him, further continuation of such rates will lead to complete exhaustion of the Ukrainian army and lowering of the mobilisation age to 18, as well as toughening of forced mobilisation.
He said Moscow had carefully read the statement by US President-elect Donald Trump after his meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky.
Peskov noted that the terms of the peace talks were announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier, but Ukraine continues to refuse negotiations and does not change its position.
In June this year, Vladimir Putin voiced the conditions for peace talks with Kyiv: Ukrainian troops must be completely withdrawn from the entire territory of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
As soon as Kyiv announces this and promises not to join NATO, we will immediately ensure the safe withdrawal of Ukrainian troops and start the negotiation process, Putin said.
