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Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump claims 5,000 Russian, Ukrainian soldiers killed each week. Here's what the numbers say
After the deadliest attack on Kyiv since last summer killed 13 civilians, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to lose patience with Russia, posting on social media, 'Vladimir, Stop! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let's get the peace deal done!' Trump repeated a number he's cited in the past to push for a quick resolution of the war in Ukraine, without evidence to back up his statement. Although his figure is far higher than public estimates, a lack of official data to counter his claims meant it was widely quoted with only limited pushback. Both Ukraine and Russia closely guard their numbers as state secrets, leaving an information void that others have tried to fill. The true death toll is a matter of intense debate, but experts have used open sources and intelligence estimates to try and calculate how many Ukrainian and Russian troops have died throughout the war. Here's what we know. Exact numbers vary, but all experts agree — Russia is losing far more troops than Ukraine. Using open sources, BBC Russia and Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, have collected the names of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers killed since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. When adjusting to account for soldiers whose names may not appear publicly in cemeteries, obituaries, and war memorials, BBC Russia stated that the true death toll could range somewhere between 158,885 to 229,500 Russian soldiers. Ukraine's Armed Forces General Staff publishes daily estimates of Russia's troop losses, but does not separate deaths from those who are wounded. The combined casualties total 951,960 as of April 30. The General Staff has not released details on how these estimates are calculated. In January, then-U.S. defense secretary said Russia had suffered more than 700,000 casualties, combining both deaths and injuries. Although Ukraine has avoided publishing its own troop loss figures for most of the war and has reportedly withheld them from its allies, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 16 that over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died on the battlefield since February 2022. Unofficial estimates put the number higher, however. There are tens of thousands of soldiers missing who are not included in the count. Additionally, confidential sources cited by the Wall Street Journal in September and by the New York Times in August of 2023 named Ukrainian troop deaths of 80,000 and 70,000, respectively. Kyiv has pushed back on these estimates. The Kyiv Independent was not able to independently verify the figures provided by different sources. Despite the gap in losses, Russia still has a much larger military and a much larger population to draw on in its recruiting efforts. Because of this, it has managed to continue grinding forward on the battlefield while sustaining high losses. Read also: Every finding is a key: The mission to recover Ukraine's fallen soldiers (Photos) Across more than three years of war, the average number of soldiers killed weekly — even when looking at the higher end of public estimates for both Russia and Ukraine — comes out to far below what Trump cites, at less than 2,000 each week. Losses have risen compared to the start of the full-scale invasion, and daily and weekly tolls fluctuate depending on battlefield conditions. Casualties rose during the costly Battle of Bakhmut in late 2022 and early 2023, and rose again at the end of 2024 amid increased fighting. Multiple sources — including Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi — say around half of the Russian troop losses occurred in 2024 as Russia stepped up its infantry assaults. Around 7,000 Russian troops died and another 8,000 were injured near Pokrovsk alone in January, according to Syrskyi. Fighting has concentrated there near the crucial logistics hub at Ukraine's eastern front line. Even when factoring in higher losses of late, the average combined death toll for Ukraine and Russia each week falls short of Trump's comments. Read also: 'A very bloody war' — What is the death toll of Russia's war in Ukraine? We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia returns body of Ukraine journalist who died in detention
Russia has returned the body of a Ukrainian journalist who was captured in occupied east Ukraine and later died in Russian custody, a Ukrainian lawmaker said Thursday. Victoria Roshchyna, who died at age 27, disappeared in August 2023 on a reporting trip to the Moscow-held part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region after travelling via Russian territory. She remained missing until April 2024, when her father received a letter from Moscow's defense ministry saying she was being held in Russian detention. The circumstances of her arrest were not made public and Russia did not explain her death, first reported in October 2024. "Victoria Roshchyna's body is in Ukraine. The journalist's body was returned as part of an exchange at the end of February," Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchyshyn said Thursday. Officials chose not to reveal her body had been returned until they were absolutely certain it was her, Yurchyshyn said. "Given the torture and the condition of the body, Roshchyna's family requested not one, but several DNA examinations," he added. A joint investigation by Reporters Without Borders and Ukrainian investigative news outlet Slidstva found that she was arrested in Energodar in southern Ukraine, and later held for several weeks in the Russian-held city of Melitopol. From there, she was transferred to a jail in the Russian port city of Taganrog. The investigation said she stopped eating in prison and had "knife wounds" on her body, according to her cellmate. Russia does not typically comment on the treatment of individual prisoners but says it investigates instances of torture in its penal system. Thousands of Ukrainians opposed to Moscow's rule have been detained in occupied territories since Russia's invasion in 2022, many of whom face torture at the hands of security forces, according to rights groups. Last year, BBC Russia reported that thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including journalists, in Russian custody were being held without charges or access to legal counsel. Roshchyna worked as a freelancer for various independent news outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, and had collaborated with the Ukrainian service of US-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe. In March 2022, Roshchina was detained by Russian forces for 10 days while reporting in southeastern Ukraine, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. In 2022, she was awarded the Courage in Journalism award by the International Women's Media Foundation for her reporting from east Ukraine. "Victoria's passing is not just the loss of a remarkable woman, but of an intrepid witness to history," the group said in a statement after her death. "Regardless of her cause of death, we can say with certainty that her life was taken because she dared tell the truth. We hope her death will not be in vain: the international community must pressure Russia to cease targeting journalists and silencing press freedom." The Committee to Protect Journalists also condemned Moscow for Roshchina's death. "Responsibility for her death lies with the Russian authorities, who detained her for daring to report the truth on the Russia-Ukraine war," CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator said in a statement. "Ukrainian and Russian authorities must do everything in their power to investigate Roshchina's death." Sneak peek: The Detective's Wife St. Louis woman says family decimated by cancer after living near toxic creek for decades Arson charges related to massive New Jersey wildfire
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK, Italy urge Russia to accept full ceasefire in Ukraine
The foreign ministries of the United Kingdom and Italy urged Russia to accept an unconditional ceasefire in separate statements on April 19, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a temporary truce over Easter weekend. Putin said he ordered a halt on combat operations in Russia's war against Ukraine from 6 p.m. Moscow time on April 19 until midnight on April 21. In response, the U.K. called on Russia to go beyond a "one-day pause" and commit to a full ceasefire in Ukraine. "Ukraine has committed to a full ceasefire. We urge Russia to do the same," a U.K. foreign ministry spokesperson said, according to Reuters. The Ukrainian government on March 11 said it was ready to accept a U.S. proposal for a complete 30-day ceasefire, provided Russia agrees to the same terms. Russia continues to reject the proposal unless Ukraine makes extraordinary concessions — including a halt to all foreign military aid. "Now is the moment for Putin to show he is serious about peace by ending his horrible invasion," the U.K. foreign mnistry said in its statement. The Italian foreign ministry also urged Russia to take more significant steps toward peace. "It is not clear how Russia will respect a short truce, while Putin must make up his mind to finally stop this war he started," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. "He must respond positively to President Trump's demands and make a real ceasefire possible. Peace must be just and lasting over time." Putin's call for an Easter truce arrived shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed frustration and impatience with the status of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Washington will "take a pass" on further mediation efforts if either side "makes it difficult" to proceed with negotiations, Trump said on April 18. Trump has spent the past several months boasting of his ability to make a deal to swiftly end the war in Ukraine. The statements from the U.K. and Italy echoed Ukraine's own response to Putin's announcement. President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 19 invited Russia to extend the full ceasefire beyond Easter Sunday. "This will show Russia's true intentions, because 30 hours is enough for headlines, but not for real confidence-building measures. Thirty days can give peace a chance," he said. Zelensky also said that reports from Ukraine's front lines indicate that Russia has already violated the Easter ceasefire. Read also: Ukraine orders troops to cease fire, document Russian violations after Putin declares 'Easter truce,' BBC Russia reports We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'It would be foolish not to admire Putin' — Elon Musk's father Errol swoons over Russian President
Elon Musk's father, Errol, has expressed his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin "as a man," saying it would be "foolish not to admire (him)" in an interview with BBC Russia published on April 3. In the interview, he said "only in time will it be possible to understand who really started" the full-scale invasion of Ukraine — despite it being Russia — and said he considers Putin "a strong leader." "It would be foolish not to admire Putin. I listen to his speeches — he says logical things. If you view him simply as a man, not in the context of international politics, it's hard not to have respect for Mr. Putin," he said. Errol Musk is a South African former businessman and politician known to have had a fractious relationship with his children. Elon's younger brother, Kimbal, has previously said their father would scream at them for several hours at a time, calling them worthless and pathetic. When asked in the BBC Russia interview about Musk's attitude toward Putin, Errol said their views were similar. "We all think so. We're all the same," he said in reference to his family. Errol also said that Musk's decision to provide Ukraine with the Starlink satellite internet network at the beginning of the war in 2022 was right, but now the war "has dragged on and goes on and on." Errol Musk rejected the idea that Musk's move into politics was due to business interests, saying their family does not need additional income. "God heavens, we have everything. We don't need money or one more successful business," he added. Elon Musk oversees SpaceX, which holds billions of dollars in U.S. government contracts with the Pentagon and NASA, and has a $1.8-billion intelligence community contract to develop a spy satellite network. Musk has claimed he possesses a U.S. security clearance, allowing him access to classified information. SpaceX's dominance in the U.S. space sector, with its Starlink network of almost 7,000 satellites, plays a critical role in U.S. military communications, including those of Ukraine's armed forces on the battlefield. Read also: Why I'm leaving Trump's America — historian Marci Shore We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A ‘very bloody war:' What is the death toll of Russia's war in Ukraine?
After holding a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 12, U.S. President Donald Trump once again claimed the "horrible, very bloody war" in Ukraine had cost "millions" of lives. It's not the first time Trump has claimed that such numbers of people have been killed in the war. "We have numbers that almost a million Russian soldiers have been killed," Trump said in January, adding that "about 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers are killed." But calculating the total number of deaths — both civilian and military — is complicated as Russia seldom comments on its battlefield losses, Ukraine has only recently begun releasing official information on its figures, and civilian deaths in occupied areas of Ukraine are largely unknown. According to figures released by Kyiv, U.N. statistics, and open-source data published by BBC Russia, the total death toll of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, as well as Ukrainian civilians stands at 147,459. The true number of Ukrainians and Russians who have been killed, however, is almost certainly far higher. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has lost 45,100 soldiers on the battlefield since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Speaking in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan published on Feb. 4, Zelensky said that there have also been a total of 390,000 cases of injuries on the battlefield. The true number of wounded soldiers is less given that some soldiers sustained multiple wounds in separate cases. Kyiv largely avoided commenting on its losses for the first two years of the full-scale war, until Zelensky announced in February 2024 that 31,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed. At the time, he refrained from detailing how many soldiers had been wounded, "because Russia will then know how many people have left the battlefield." The numbers provided by Zelensky do not include the Ukrainian soldiers killed between 2022 and 2014, when Russia began its war against Ukraine. According to an estimation by U.N., 4,400 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during this period. Zelensky also told Morgan that it was not clear how many Ukrainians are currently held as prisoners of war compared to those missing in action. "How many of those are missing (in action) and how many of those are prisoners (of war), I do not know the precise number but we are working on it," Zelensky added. Though there are no official figures on how many Ukrainian soldiers are being held as POWs in Russia, to date over 4,000 Ukrainians have been returned home in prisoner swaps, according to the latest figures from Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. This number includes both military personnel and civilians. Russia has lost over 850,000 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022, according to the latest figures by the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces. While Ukraine's figures do not specify killed or wounded, the overall consensus is that it includes dead, wounded, missing, and captured. For comparison, the U.K. suffered 750,000 military casualties during the six years of World War II. Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Dec. 30 that 427,000 casualties, or more than half of the total figure, occurred in 2024 alone, with troop losses reaching record levels in November and December as Russia stepped up its assaults in Donetsk Oblast. The accelerated casualties suffered by Russia continued into 2025. According to Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, Russia lost more soldiers fighting in the direction of Pokrovsk, a small city in Donetsk Oblast, than its total losses in the Second Chechen War. Syrskyi previously claimed that 7,000 Russian soldiers were killed near Pokrovsk in January alone. The last time Russia publicly released figures on its military death toll was September 2022, when the Kremlin claimed just 5,937 men had been killed fighting in Ukraine. More realistic estimates come from an ongoing research project by Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet, working with BBC Russia. The outlets have so far confirmed through open-source data the names of 90,019 Russian soldiers killed during the full-scale invasion. Russia's real losses are likely higher, as the media analysis is estimated to cover 45% to 65% of the actual death toll. According to the journalists' estimates, the actual losses could range from 138,500 to 200,000 people killed. Read also: As Russian losses in Ukraine mount, Putin faces 'devastating' demographic timebomb The true military death toll is the subject of intense media debate. In December 2024, Zelensky disputed reports that as many as 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during the full-scale war. Zelensky's comments likely referred to the Wall Street Journal's claims published in September that 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed, with a further 400,000 wounded. The outlet estimated Russia's losses at as many as to 200,000 killed and 400,000 injured. The Economist published a similar estimation in November that between 60,000 to 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed. Another 400,000 were too injured to fight on, according to the Economist's estimates. The figures suggest that almost one in 20 fighting-age men in Ukraine have been killed or injured because of Russia's war. "I want to tell you that, no, (the number of those killed is) less, much less," Zelensky said in an interview with Kyodo News published on Dec. 1, while refusing to provide a detailed number of casualties. "However, we have to be honest, we do not know how many Ukrainians have been killed in occupied territories of Ukraine," Zelensky added. According to U.N. statistics from the end of 2024, over 12,340 civilian deaths have been recorded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. More than 27,836 Ukrainians were also recorded as wounded during that period. According to the U.N., aerial bombs and long-range weapons caused a greater number of casualties in 2024 than in the previous year. However, the U.N. figures consist mostly of Ukrainian civilians who have been killed in either areas of Ukraine under Kyiv's control — for example in Russian drone and missile attacks on cities like Kharkiv, Kyiv, or Zaporizhzhia — or in areas of Ukraine that were occupied, but have since been liberated, like Kherson. Civilians killed in areas that have remained under Russian occupation are not part of the official figures, as the U.N. has not been able to access these areas to verify all deaths. This includes cities like Mariupol, for example. The U.N. officials who compiled the figures told the Kyiv Independent that they had managed to verify around 2,100 civilian deaths in the city. An estimate by Human Rights Watch based on satellite images of mass graves said at least 8,000 civilians had been killed in Mariupol, but noted that the true figure was likely significantly higher. These figures also only include those who died in the first months of the full-scale invasion, during the intense siege and battle for the city. The estimate does not include those who died later from the conditions imposed by Russian occupying forces, which left the city with little functioning infrastructure. Ukraine considers 60,000 of its citizens have gone missing during the war. The missing person count does not include over 19,500 Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia, Belarus, or Russian-occupied territories. Read also: 'Totally screwed' — How Trump, Hegseth are damaging Ukraine in talks with Russia We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
