Russia's losses during the offensive in Kharkiv Oblast launched earlier this month are eight times higher than those suffered by Ukraine's armed forces, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview published on May 25.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claim.
Speaking to the Kazakh outlet Vlast, Zelensky said the figure shows Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "has absolutely no regard for human life."
Russia launched a new offensive on May 10 in northern Kharkiv Oblast. Moscow's forces had managed to advance as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) into the region but had been halted by the first line of defense, Zelensky said on May 16.
On May 24, Ukraine's military said it was now conducting counterattacks against Moscow's forces in the area.
"Their breakthrough in the direction of Kharkiv, which occurred a little over two weeks ago, [resulted in] military casualties of 1 to 8 – one Ukrainian to eight Russians," Zelensky said while speaking to reporters on May 24 in the ruins of a Kharkiv print house which was destroyed in a Russian missile attack a day earlier.
Zelensky said he is constantly updated with Russian casualty figures and even before the Kharkiv offensive there were two-three thousand victims a week.
"Two-three thousand families lost their children. He doesn't care at all," he added.
According to Ukrainian figures, Russian losses in Ukraine passed the grim milestone of 500,000 on May 25. The figure could not be independently verified.
Chris York
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