As many as 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in war: Aide

As many as 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in battle since Russia invaded the country nine months ago, according to an official in Kyiv, Qazet.az reports.

The comments from Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appeared to be the first update on the number of fighters killed since late August when the head of the armed forces said nearly 9,000 troops had died.

“We have official figures from the general staff, we have official figures from the top command, and they amount to (between) 10,000 and 12,500 to 13,000 killed,” Podolyak told Ukraine’s Channel 24 on Thursday.

“We are open in talking about the number of dead,” he added, saying more soldiers had been wounded than had died.

The number of military casualties has not been confirmed by Ukraine’s armed forces. Podolyak added that Zelenskyy would make the official data public “when the right moment comes”.

Ukraine’s military mounted a lightning counterattack in September that saw them win back swathes of territory in the northeast and south of the country, including the strategically-important city of Kherson which had been occupied by Russia shortly after its February 24 invasion.