31,000 Ukrainian troops killed since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Zelenskyy says

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 11:58 AM EST, February 25, 2024


KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action in the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Zelenskyy said that the number was far lower than estimates given by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government.

“31,000 Ukrainian military personnel have been killed in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000, not whatever Putin and his deceitful circle have been lying about. But nevertheless, each of these losses is a great sacrifice for us”, Zelenskyy said at the “Ukraine. Year 2024” forum in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian leader said that he wouldn’t disclose the number of troops that were wounded or missing. He also said that “tens of thousands of civilians” had been killed in occupied areas of Ukraine, but said that no exact figures would be available until the war was over.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-troops-killed-zelenskyy-675f53437aaf56a4d990736e85af57c4

[JohnSJ]

1. Call out the Republicans as bearing the responsibility of those deaths

[lamp_shade]

2. I had no idea this many. This is so sad.

[womanofthehills]

8. It's worse - NYTs - 500,000 deaths & injuries

NYT - “Troop Deaths and Injuries in Ukraine War Near 500,000, U.S. Officials Say
Ukraine and Russia have lost a staggering number of troops as Kyiv’s counteroffensive drags on. A lack of rapid medical care has added to the toll.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/us/politics/ukraine-russia-war-casualties.html
————
ABC News - “Hospital sees 30% rise in seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers, says doctor
As many as 100 hurt soldiers arrive daily at a Dnipro hospital, a doctor said.”

“Dr. Sergii Ryzhenko told ABC News that the Mechnikov Hospital in the city of Dnipro, a few hours' drive from the fighting, is now receiving between 40 and 100 seriously wounded men each day, with his team performing between 50 and 100 surgical operations in any 24-hour period.

Many of those procedures are amputations, he said.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/hospital-sees-30-rise-wounded-ukrainian-soldiers-doctor/story?id=106197525

[chowder66]

3. Such an unnecessary loss of life (and harm to those that survive).

From Graham Greenes character on Northern Exposure:

Leonard Quinhagak : Low self esteem is the root cause of practically all the pain and misery in the world. It's what drives war, and torture, and genocide. It's what evil is. Do you think Hitler liked himself? Or Cortez? We hate others because we hate ourselves.

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. And on the Russian side, estimates vary from 70k-315k killed.

When Ukrainians have the arms they need to defend themselves, they kill up to 10 Russians for every Ukrainian killed.

[former9thward]

5. No one estimates 315k killed or anywhere close to that.

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. Nobody except US intelligence agencies

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/31000-ukrainian-troops-killed-start-russias-full-scale-107529240

A U.S. intelligence report declassified in mid-December 2023 estimated that 315,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded in Ukraine. If accurate, the figure would represent 87% of the roughly 360,000 troops Russia had before the war, according to the report.

OK, killed or wounded. Ukraine says 300,000 Russians have been killed, the world press said 40-55,000 back in July 2023, with estimates climbing sharply since then.

So it’s at least twice as many Russians killed as Ukrainians.

I’d say that’s a good start.

[GregariousGroundhog]

6. The 315k figure is a recent U.S. assessment of Russian casualties, not deaths

Not all casualties result in death, and some casualties will recover and return to fight. Someone could trip while trying to avoid gunfire and sprain their ankle or break a bone or tear their ACL; they would be a causalty but return to duty after several weeks or months of rehabilitation.