31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia invaded, Zelenskiy says – as it happened

Zelenskiy says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia invaded

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago, giving the first official figure for more than a year.

Zelenskiy told a news conference in Kyiv that he could not disclose the number of wounded because it would help Russian military planning, Reuters reported.

“31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000 … Putin is lying there … But nevertheless, this is a big loss for us.”

Ukraine has not put a number to its military losses since the end of 2022, when presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the invasion.

Russia does not disclose military losses, which it regards as secret.

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