Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv that he could not disclose the number of wounded Ukrainian soldiers because it would help Russian military planning.
“31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000 ... [Vladimir] Putin is lying there ... But nevertheless, this is a big loss for us,” he said.
“Tens of thousands civilians have died on the occupied territories. We know about tens of thousands, but
I don’t know how many of them died, how many were killed, how many were murdered, tortured, how many were deported. You know that there are certain lists, but
we don’t know how many of our civilians they have killed. We just don’t know,” Zelenskyy added.
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 on February 24.
A New York Times report in August cited U.S. officials as putting the Ukrainian death toll at close to
70,000. The same report said as many as 120,000 Russian troops had died during the war.
Zelenskyy told reporters that
180,000 Russians had been killed in the fighting.
Russia does not disclose military losses, which it regards as secret.
The Ukrainian leader also said that tens of thousands of civilians had been killed in the occupied areas of the country during the war. Kyiv says it cannot accurately assess the scale of such losses because it does not have access.
Ukraine’s plan for new counteroffensive
President Zelenskyy said on Sunday that
Ukraine has a clear plan for a new counteroffensive against Russian forces, adding that he could not disclose details publicly.
“There is a plan [for a counteroffensive], the plan is clear, I can’t tell you the details,” Zelenskyy told a news conference in the capital Kyiv.
He said that a major military shakeup that saw the head of Ukraine’s military replaced earlier this month was connected to the new plan of action on the battlefield.
“This plan is related to the change of management, there are corresponding changes. Several plans will be prepared due to a leak of information,” Zelenskyy said, without elaborating.
Kyiv’s troops conducted a counteroffensive last year, but were unable to break through prepared defensive lines in the Russian-occupied south and east.
Zelenskyy said earlier that Kyiv’s plans to conduct a counteroffensive last year
had been leaked and ended up “on a desk in the Kremlin” before the operation had even begun.
Russia may attempt another offensive
President Zelenskyy also cautioned that the Russian forces are likely to attempt another offensive in late May or summer.
“We will prepare for their assault. Their assault that began on October 8 has not brought any results, I think,” Zelenskyy told a news conference.
