Ukraine’s military death toll reaches 55,000, Zelenskyy says

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that the country has lost 55,000 military personnel since the start of the war, while a significant number of soldiers remain missing, according to reports from Ukrainian media outlet Politika Strany.

Zelenskyy’s figures mark an increase from February 2025, when he reported 46,000 military deaths, indicating roughly 9,000 additional fatalities over the past year, or about 750 per month, averaging 25 deaths per day along the more than 1,200-kilometre frontline.

Regarding missing personnel, the Russian Foreign Ministry recently reported transferring 12,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv since the summer of 2025.

However, according to Zelenskyy, most of these bodies have not been officially recognised as fallen in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a point that contrasts with some open-source reports suggesting families were notified of deaths before the transfers.

Ukrainian law provides families of officially recognised fallen soldiers with payments of 15 million hryvnias (approximately $348,000).

Independent assessments have suggested substantially higher Ukrainian military losses. The U.S.-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has estimated between 100,000 and 140,000 deaths.

Using Zelenskyy’s official figure as a baseline, the discrepancy in potential family compensation could amount to 675 billion hryvnias ($15 billion) at the low end, and 1.275 trillion hryvnias ($29 billion) at the high end.

By comparison, Ukraine’s total military budget for 2026 is set at 2.8 trillion hryvnias (around $64 billion).

US President Donald Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, held a second day of talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Abu Dhabi on February 5, aiming to advance a US-proposed peace plan.

Witkoff described the discussions as “detailed and productive” but noted that “significant work remains.” The biggest sticking point is territory, with Russia demanding Ukraine cede the rest of the Donbas region.

Trump has repeatedly highlighted the human cost of the war, citing thousands of Ukrainian and Russian deaths each week, though these figures are difficult to verify.

By Aghakazim Guliyev