NewsFrance claims Russian military losses hit 150,000 in Ukraine clash

France claims Russian military losses hit 150,000 in Ukraine clash

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that approximately 150,000 Russian soldiers have died since the beginning of the conflict with Ukraine, according to the country's chief diplomat, Stephane Sejourne. He mentioned that, when including the wounded, Russian casualties amount to half a million military personnel.

Russia's losses in Ukraine. Estimates of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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8:59 PM EDT, May 3, 2024

In an interview published by the independent Novaya Gazeta, Sejourne declared that Russia has already faced a military defeat. He questioned the purpose behind the conflict, summarizing it in two words: "for nothing."

How many Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine? Kyiv: 180,000 military personnel

French estimates of Russian losses are lower than those of the Ukrainian authorities. In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported about 180,000 enemy soldiers had died. Meanwhile, the British government assessed in April that so far, around 450,000 Russians have either died or been wounded in Ukraine, AFP recalled.

Mid-April reports from the BBC, based on their analyses along with volunteer efforts and the independent media group Mediazona, suggest that Russia has lost at least 50,000 soldiers. The collaboration collects fragmented data on Russian casualties from media outlets, blog posts, and social media and monitors cemeteries.

According to the BBC, in the second year of the conflict, at least 27,300 aggressor soldiers died, though the actual number is likely to be much higher. Moscow, having stopped reporting its military casualties since September 2022, has declined to comment on the figures collected by the BBC.

Estimates of Ukrainian casualties vary as well. In late February, President Zelensky reported about 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died, countering claims by Putin and others, which inflated the numbers significantly. However, many Western sources suggest that Ukraine's military losses have been vastly underreported.

At the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Ukraine had suffered 444,000 military deaths during the conflict. On a separate note, he stated that since the beginning of the year, Kyiv had lost 111,000 people, though it was unclear if he was referring to deaths or also including wounded individuals, as noted by AFP.