Zelensky admits 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in war with Russia, pegs Moscow casualties at 180,000

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday (Feb 25) said that so far 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the war with Russia. "31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in this war. Not 300,000 or 150,000, or whatever Putin and his lying circle are saying. But each of these losses is a great loss for us, said Zelensky at a press conference in Kyiv.

His rare admission of military losses during the ongoing conflict came a day after the Russia-Ukraine war completed two years.

Zelensky also said that he could not disclose the number of wounded because it would help Russian military planning.

Ukraine has not provided a tally for its military losses since the end of 2022, when presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak stated that 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been dead since the invasion on February 24.

According to a New York Times report from August, US authorities estimate that the Ukrainian death toll is close to 70,000.

The same report stated that up to 120,000 Russian troops were killed throughout the battle. However, Russia has never disclosed any military loss.

But Zelensky told reporters that 180,000 Russians were killed in the war.

Counteroffensive plans were leaked to Russia

The losses on the battlefield are a sensitive issue during wars, especially for a country like Ukraine which is attempting to alter how it mobilises citizens into the army in order to rebuild its forces after last year's counteroffensive proved unable to break through Russian lines.

While mentioning the counteroffensive, Zelensky suggested that plans had been leaked to Russia ahead of time. He didn't provide any details.

Watch:Russia-Ukraine war: EU President says, 'More than ever, we stand firmly by Ukraine'

Ukraine's counteroffensive in 2023, powered by billions of dollars in Western arms, largely fell flat, failing to break through multiple lines of Russian defenses and fortifications.

"Our counteroffensive action plans were on the Kremlin's table before the counteroffensive actions began," Zelensky said.

His office subsequently confirmed to AFP that Zelensky was referring to Moscow obtaining sensitive military planning information.

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(With inputs from agencies)