Ukraine has lost almost 500,000 troops – Economist

Vladimir Zelensky previously claimed that only some 31,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed, without revealing how many were wounded

Up to half a million Ukrainian troops have been killed and wounded in the ongoing conflict, according to the latest estimates provided by The Economist, which cited leaked intelligence reports, official statements and open sources.

In an article published on Tuesday, the outlet noted that it is difficult to estimate Kiev’s actual losses, given that Ukrainian officials and their allies are “reluctant to provide estimates.”

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claimed in February that Ukraine had only lost 31,000 troops since the conflict with Russia escalated in February 2022. He refused to reveal how many had been wounded, arguing it would let Moscow know “how many people are left on the battlefield.”

However, The Economist noted that according to US officials, Kiev’s total casualty figure currently stand at more than 308,000 soldiers. At the same time, according to the outlet’s analysis of other sources, this figure could be closer to half a million troops, of which “at least” 60,000-100,000 are believed to have been killed.

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“Perhaps a further 400,000 are too injured to fight on,” the paper wrote.

The newspaper also cited the UAlosses website, which tracks and catalogues the names and ages of the dead. According to its data, Ukraine has lost at least 60,435 troops, or more than 0.5% of its pre-war population of men of fighting age.

While the data from UA losses is not comprehensive and not all soldiers’ ages are known, The Economist suggested that the actual share of men who have died in the fighting is higher and the amount of servicemen who are too injured to fight is even greater.

“Assuming that six to eight Ukrainian soldiers are severely wounded for every one who is killed in battle, nearly one in 20 men of fighting age is dead or too wounded to fight on,” the media outlet estimated.

Earlier this year, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine’s military losses since February 2022 had reached almost 500,000, without specifying how many had been killed or injured.

According to the latest information from the ministry, Kiev has also lost over 35,000 servicemen since August amid its incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country’s personnel losses in the conflict were a fraction of those on the Ukrainian side, suggesting that the ratio of casualties was approximately one to five.