Zelensky reveals 400,000 Ukrainian troops have either been killed or injured in war with Russia

About 400,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed or maimed in bitter fighting with Russia since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky revealed this week.

“Since the start of the large-scale war, Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers who died on the battlefield,” the Ukrainian president said on social media.

“There have been 370,000 cases of medical assistance to the wounded,” he wrote, adding that “half” of wounded troops are returning to the battlefield.

The shocking casualty figures – which are still lower than many Western estimates – come as Russia continues to make significant gains in eastern Ukraine – albeit at great human cost.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been reluctant to publish official casualty figures, but Western officials say the crushing positional war has produced record losses for both sides, with tens of thousands killed and injured every month.

Zelensky also said this week that he is open to the possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to ensure the country’s security, as part of a broader effort to end the nearly three-year war.

The deployment would be a step toward Ukraine’s accession to NATO, Zelensky said in a message on his Telegram channel.

“But before that we need to have a clear picture of when Ukraine will be a member of the European Union and when Ukraine will be a member of NATO,” he added.

His proposals tread a delicate diplomatic path amid international efforts to find a way to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, at a time when Russia has gained the upper hand in the fighting.

Newly elected US President Donald Trump is trying to broker a ceasefire and met with Zelensky in Paris on Saturday.

But the Ukrainian president said on Monday he would approach outgoing US President Joe Biden about Ukraine’s possible NATO membership because he is still in office while Trump does not yet have “legal rights” to decide the issue.

Speaking about Zelensky, President-elect Trump said: “He wants a ceasefire. He wants to make peace. We haven’t talked about the details.’

Trump noted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s forces are suffering heavy losses in Ukraine.

“I am formulating a concept on how to end this ridiculous war,” he said.

The possibilities of Ukraine joining the 32-nation NATO military alliance and Western troops being stationed on its territory have been highly divisive and contentious issues since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.

At their Washington summit in July, NATO declared that Ukraine was on an “irreversible” path to membership, but did not invite the country.

The US and Germany have been reluctant to allow Ukraine to join NATO while at war with Russia.

One obstacle was the view that Ukraine’s borders would have to be clearly demarcated before the country could join, leaving no doubt as to where the alliance’s mutual defense pact would come into effect.

The Russian invading army occupies about a fifth of Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron presented the idea of ​​Western troops on the ground in Ukraine last February.

But it brought with it the same fear of escalation that has led Western leaders to impose limits on arms supplies and authorization for their use.

European military heavyweights Germany and Poland immediately said they would not send troops to Ukraine.

Macron declined to provide details on which countries were considering sending troops, saying he preferred to maintain some “strategic ambiguity.”

Ukrainian forces are weathering a months-long attack by Russia on the eastern Donetsk region, where Kiev’s defenses are creaking.

Zelensky said on

“Ukraine wants this war to end more than anyone. A diplomatic resolution would undoubtedly save lives. We are looking for it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Friedrich Merz, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s challenger in the upcoming German elections, said there is a “basic consensus” in Germany about continuing to provide military aid to Ukraine.

But during a visit to Kiev, he also highlighted differences with Scholz, who has refused to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, insisting that everything must be done to prevent a wider war between the West and Russia.

Merz has been open to providing these and allowing Ukraine to hit military targets in Russia, and on several occasions has urged Scholz to send the Taurus system.

“President Zelensky knows our position on the Taurus missiles… As it stands now, in early December 2024, it remains the same,” Merz said in Kiev.

Merz, who arrived by train from Poland in the morning, previously said on social media that “the war in Ukraine must end as soon as possible.” Only if Ukraine can defend itself will Putin enter into negotiations.’

When he met Zelensky, Merz noted that France, Britain and the US take a different position than the current German government.

“Our position is clear, as is that of my parliamentary group: we want to put your army in a position to reach military bases in Russia – not the civilian population, not the infrastructure, but the military targets from which your country is being fought. he said.

“With this limitation of range, we are forcing your country to fight with one hand behind its back, and that is not our position,” he added.