Ukraine says 13,000 of its soldiers have died in the war, but the number could be even higher

As fighting continues in an increasingly unpredictable war, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said military leaders estimatebetween 10,000 and 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the nine months of war against Russia. A figure lower than the estimates of Western leaders, amid the secrecy of Volodimir Zelenski’s government on this matter.

Russian forces continued rocket attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and troop positions along the line of contact, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Friday, adding that Moscow’s military advance was focused on a dozen towns, including Bakhmut and Avdiivka, to the east.

On Thursday evening, Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to President Zelensky, reported new figures on Ukrainian soldiers killed in battle, noting that the number of wounded soldiers was greater and that the number of civilian casualties was “significant”, although he did not provide details.

“We have official figures from higher command and they amount to between 10,000 and 12,500-13,000 dead,” Podolyak told Channel 24.

And he added that Zelenskyj will publish the official data “at the right time”.

The Army has not confirmed those figures and it was unusual for a Ukrainian official to give such a tally. The latest figures date back to the end of August, when the head of the armed forces said that nearly 9,000 soldiers had died.

In June, when Russian forces took control of the eastern Lugansk region, Zelensky said Ukraine was losing “60 to 100 soldiers a day, killed in action and about 500 wounded in action.”

Doubtful numbers

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On Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed before her office corrected her comments, calling them inaccurate and saying that the figure referred to both dead and wounded.

Last month, General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that so far up to 40,000 Ukrainian civilians and “more than” 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded during the war. He added that it was “probably the same thing on the Ukrainian side”.

In September, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed in nearly seven months of fighting following the invasion that began in late February.

Both sides are suspects minimize your losses in order not to affect the morale of his soldiers.

The UN human rights office, in its latest weekly update released Monday, said it had recorded 6,655 civilian deaths and 10,368 injured, but acknowledged its tally includes only those it has confirmed and that the actual number is likely much higher.

The dreaded winter

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Ukrainians are preparing for freezing winter temperatures like Russia exacerbates attacks against infrastructure, including power plants and transformers, leaving many without heat, water or electricity.

Ukraine tackles an avalanche of artillery shelling and drone strikes since early October.

Shelling has been especially intense in Kherson in the south since the Ukrainian army retook the city nearly three weeks ago.

Local authorities said two-thirds of Kherson already had power Thursday night after fresh Russian attacks disrupted power that had recently been restored.

Source: AP and AFP

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