France estimates 150,000 Russian troops have been killed since the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on May 3.
Speaking to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Sejourne said the total losses including injured were 500,000.
"Europe and its partners will remain united and determined, for as long as necessary. Russia's military failure is already apparent," he said, adding: "We estimate Russian military losses at 500,000, including 150,000 deaths.
"All of this for what? This can be summed up in two words: for nothing."
If confirmed, the 150,000 figure is around ten times higher than that suffered by the Soviet army during the decade-long war it fought in Afghanistan from 1979-89.
For comparison, the U.S. military lost around 102,000 soldiers killed in all the wars it fought since the end of World War 2, including 58,220 during the Vietnam War.
Estimates of the number of Russian casualties vary. Russia itself has not publicly released figures since September 2022, when the official Kremlin death toll stood at just 5,937.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg estimated on March 14 that Russia had suffered over 350,000 casualties in Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
According to Kyiv which releases daily figures, as of May 4 Russia has suffered 473,400 casualties in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, including 1,260 over the last day.
These daily numbers include both dead and injured but in late February, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the number of those killed was 180,000.
He also said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives in the war. Zelensky added that the exact amount is unknown, and it would only be possible to find out once occupied territories were liberated.
Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, has confirmed through open-source research the names of 49,281 Russian soldiers who have been killed fighting in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Since Mediazona's last update in mid-March, the names of 1,580 Russian soldiers have been added to the list of casualties.
The journalists specify that the actual figures are likely considerably higher since the information they have verified so far comes from public sources, including obituaries, posts by relatives, regional media news, and local authorities' reports.
Since Russia began its all-out war against Ukraine, over 3,300 officers, with 386 holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel or higher, have been killed in combat in Ukraine.
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
