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Zelensky: Russian losses during Kharkiv offensive 8 times higher than Ukraine's

by Chris York May 25, 2024 3:17 PM 2 min read
Zelensky holds a phone call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Jan. 29, 2024. (Volodymyr Zelensky / X)
This audio is created with AI assistance

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.

As Russian losses in Ukraine hit 500,000, Putin buries future demographic risks at home
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, over half a million Russian soldiers were either killed or wounded in Ukraine during the 27-month-long full-scale war. The staggering number is in line with the estimates of the U.K. and France, which said earlier in May that the overall Russian losses are set

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