Between 100 and 200 Ukrainian servicemen are killed every day during the hostilities in Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told Newshour BBC World Service. This is the highest number of casualties announced by Ukraine since the start of the war, BBC News Ukrainian reports.
Podolyak stated that Ukraine’s high casualty count is caused by the lack of parity between Ukrainian and Russian military capabilities. Ukraine needs up to 300 missile systems to match Russia’s firepower and to liberate the occupied territories, he added.
Until Russia suffers a serious defeat, any attempts at dialogue will be impossible, and Russia will continue its attempts to seize Ukrainian territory, the official noted.
On 1 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that between 60 and 100 Ukrainian servicemen were killed every day, and up to 500 were injured. The president stated that the situation is the direst in the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine. During a press conference in May, Zelensky also stated that up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers were killed every day in eastern Ukraine.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia announces the casualties among their servicemen on a regular basis. The Russian Defence Ministry only provided a casualty count twice since the start of the war: on 2 March and on 25 March. According to the latest report of the Russian Defence Ministry, 1,351 Russian servicemen were killed in Ukraine, and 3,825 were injured. Meanwhile, BBC News Russian identified 3,052 Russian soldiers and officers killed in Ukraine.
It is impossible to verify the information on casualties provided by the warring sides during an ongoing conflict.
