Zelenskyy: Ukraine has lost around 50,000 troops in the war

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given a figure for Ukraine's losses in the war: around 50,000 killed and 400,000 wounded.

Source: excerpt from an interview Zelenskyy gave to Fox News anchor Bret Baier

Quote: "Sorry, to be honest, I don't want to be very open about it, because the Russians will understand what's going on with our army. We have about 50,000 soldiers killed, and we had about 400,000 wounded. And there is a huge number of [people who have] disappeared."

Details: When the interviewer asked how many Russians have been killed in the war compared to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said that Russia has suffered 1,600,000 losses, including around 700,000 deaths.

Asked whether Ukraine is winning right now, Zelenskyy replied: "From the real situation on the battlefield, it's important that the initiative is not in the hands of Russia. We are not losing, and they are not winning."

During the interview, Zelenskyy also said he believes the US conflict with Iran is linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, although he has not discussed this with the American president. He noted that Russia has supplied Iran with drones for strikes on Middle Eastern countries and Israel, and has provided satellite imagery showing the locations of US bases in the Middle East.

Quote: "Russia is very happy – we know from intelligence they are very happy that there is no real ending to the war in the Middle East. Why? Because they understand that since the United States [has been involved] in this war, they can't help Ukraine on the same level like it was before. For example, with Patriots."

Background:

• Back in February, Zelenskyy officially reported that the number of Ukrainian troops killed on the battlefield stood at 55,000. He also noted that a significant number of defenders are missing in action.
• In an interview with NBC in February 2025, Zelenskyy said that more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed during the full-scale war with Russia, with tens of thousands of others missing or held captive.

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