Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy revealed the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) losses as 45,100 service members killed in action (KIA) and 390,000 wounded in action (WIA) in a rare comment on the number of soldiers who have died in the current conflict.

Speaking of the casualties, Zelenskiy said some service members having been wounded multiple times. It has been reported that number of amputees in this conflict has now surpassed those from WWII.

Injured combatants from both sides are routinely sent back to the frontlines as soon as medical officer deem them fit for service, due to a chronic shortage of manpower amongst both the Ukrainian and Russian forces.

Bankova (Ukraine’s equivalent of the Kremlin) has been reluctant to reveal exact casualty numbers, which remain a state secret, and tends to underestimate the true number, when compared to independent assessments by other observers.

In February 2024, Zelenskiy put the military’s official death toll at 31,000. However, later reports from the Strana media outlet, citing figures submitted by Ukraine’s General Staff to the commander-in-chief’s headquarters, suggested that around 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and a further 35,000 were missing in action (MIA).

Commenting on US President Donald Trump’s claim that Ukraine had lost 400,000 personnel, Zelenskiy previously stated that the actual toll stood at 43,000 dead and 370,000 wounded.