Fifty-five thousand Ukrainian soldiers killed on battlefield, Zelenskiy tells French TV

NATO Secretary General Rutte and Ukraine's President Zelenskiy attend a news conference in Kyiv

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to the media during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 3, 2026. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov

Source: REUTERS

The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield as a result of the country's war with Russia is estimated at 55,000, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told France 2 TV on Wednesday.

"In Ukraine, officially the number of soldiers killed on the battlefield - either professionals or those conscripted - is 55,000," said Zelenskiy, in a pre-recorded interview that was broadcast on Wednesday.

Zelenskiy, whose comments were translated into French, added that on top of that casualty figure was a "large number of people" considered officially missing.

Zelenskiy had previously cited a figure for Ukrainian war dead in an interview with the U.S. television network NBC in February 2025, saying that more than 46,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed on the battlefield.

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By Reuters