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During a meeting with soldiers' mothers, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin compared the country's losses during the invasion of Ukraine with the number of people dying in road accidents and from alcohol-related reasons.
"In our country, about 30,000 people die in road accidents (per year). About the same number die from alcohol," he said. "We are all mortal, and someday all of us will leave this world. It is inevitable."
Ukraine's Armed Forces estimate Russia's losses since Feb. 24 at 86,150 troops.
The estimated death toll of Russian forces and their allied forces is the highest Russia has suffered since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or arguably since World War II.
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