Ukraine’s armed forces have lost up to 13,000 soldiers since Russian invasion, official says | World News

Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine’s armed forces have lost up to 13,000 soldiers so far in the war against Russia.

His comments are believed to be the first estimate of the death toll since late August, when the head of the armed forces said nearly 9,000 service members had been killed.

“We have official figures from the general staff, we have official figures from the top commander, and they amount to (from) 10,000 to 12,500 to 13,000 deaths,” Podolyak told Kanal 24 channel. “.

“We are ready to talk about the death toll,” he added, adding that more soldiers were injured than killed.

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Last month, the top US general estimated that the Russian military had seen more than 100,000 of its troops killed and wounded in Ukraine, adding that Kyiv’s armed forces “probably” also suffered similar casualties.

Oleksiy Arestovych, another adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced on Wednesday that the death toll in Russia is about seven times higher than in Ukraine.

It comes as Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron vowed to maintain a united front against Russia amid growing concern that the US and Europe are dwindling support for the war effort. of Ukraine.

The French leader, who is on a state visit to the US, said: “What is at stake in Ukraine is not just very far away, in a small country somewhere in Europe.

“But it’s about our values. And about our principles.

“Our two nations are sisters in the fight for freedom.”

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Mr. Biden said he was open to talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin if he could prove he really wanted to end the invasion.

“I am open to talking to Mr Putin if there is in fact interest in him deciding that he is seeking to end the war.

“He hasn’t done it yet.”