Author: dmitriy.vasyura@gmail.com

Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers on the battlefield since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in a rare statement on Ukrainian losses posted on X.

This figure contrasts a claim made earlier the same day on Dec. 8 by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who wrote on his Truth Social platform that Ukrainian military losses had reached "400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians."

In his post, Zelensky wrote that "Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers killed in action on the battlefield," adding that there have been "370,000 cases of medical assistance for the wounded," which includes light or repeat injuries.

It is unclear if Trump was referring to total casualties — soldiers killed and injured — in his Truth Social post.

Zelensky also noted that approximately half of the soldiers wounded in action later return to the battlefield. "This is a testament to the resilience of our Armed Forces and the effectiveness of our medical teams," Zelensky said.

"Since September this year, Russia has been losing troops on the battlefield at a ratio of 5-to-1, or even 6-to-1, compared to us," he added.

As of August, Russia's war has killed 11,743 civilians and injured 24,614, according to the UN, but the actual figures are likely much higher. A lack of access to Russian-occupied and front-line areas makes it nearly impossible to gather accurate casualty numbers.

The updated battlefield casualty figure provided by Zelensky reflects a rise from his February estimate of 31,000 total deaths.

Up until that moment, Ukraine had kept the number of troops killed a secret. Zelensky did not clarify at that time what the government's definition of a troop casualty was.

In recent months, Zelensky and other officials have actively addressed and refuted various claims regarding Ukrainian military losses.

In a Dec. 1 interview with Kyodo News, Zelensky rejected Western media reports suggesting that as many as 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the ongoing war with Russia.

Similarly, Roman Kostenko, secretary of the parliamentary defense committee, dismissed the figure as "exaggerated" during an interview on Sept. 18, in response to a Wall Street Journal report citing the same number.

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Russian troops made 146 attempts to attack the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the greatest activity in the Pokrovsky and Kurakhovsky directions. There were 43 attacks in the Pokrovsky direction, and 31 attempts to break through in the Kurakhovsky direction.

The situation at the front is marked by a special activity of the enemy in the Pokrovsky and Kurakhovsky directions. The enemy uses all available forces and means to achieve their goals. In total, 146 military clashes have occurred since the beginning of the day. This is stated in the summary of the General Staff as of 16:00 on Sunday, reports UNN.

Today, in the Kharkiv direction, the Russian invaders stormed the defensive lines of the Ukrainian army three times in the areas of Volchansk, Liptsev and Vysokaya Yaruga.

In the Kupyansky direction , the enemy actively marched eight times on the positions of our units in the areas of Peschany, Kolesnikovka, Lozovaya and Zagrizovo. Two enemy attacks continue to this day.

Today ,in the Limansky direction, the invading army carried out 21 attacks on Ukrainian positions near Bohuslavka, Druzholyovka, Kopanka, Zeleny Gai, Zarechny, Ternov, Yampolovka, Nadezhda and Makeyevka. Eight clashes ended without success for the enemy, and another 13 continue to this day.

In the Kramatorsk direction, the invaders unsuccessfully stormed the positions of our troops near Stupochki. The situation is under control.

In the Toretsk direction, the enemy has concentrated its offensive efforts in the areas of Toretsk, Diliyevka, Leonidovka and Shcherbinovka, where seven clashes occurred, and currently three more clashes are underway.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted a successful operation to clear the quarter in Chasov Yar from the invadersDec 8 2024, 01:48 PM • 6004 views

Since the beginning of the day, the invaders have already made 43 attempts to push our defenders out of their positions in the areas of the settlements of Mirolyubovka, Novotoretskoye, Luch, Lisovka, Dachenskoye, Zelenoe, Novy Trud, yellow and Chumatsky. The Defense Forces are holding back the onslaught, currently repelled 36 enemy attacks, and seven clashes continue to this day. Enemy losses are being clarified.

Fighting continues near Sosnovka, Starye Ternovi, Maksimilianovka, Dachny, Kurakhovo, Katerynovka, Elizavetovka, Ganovka, Antonovka and Uspenovka in the Kurakhovsky direction. According to updated information, 22 of the 31 attacks of the occupation army have already been repelled today. There are fierce battles going on.

In the Vremovsky direction , the enemy stormed the positions of our units 13 times near Novoselka, Novodarovka, Sukhoi Yalov and Blagodatny. Six combat strikes continue.

In The Orekhovsky direction , the invaders attacked our units near Nesterenka.

The invaders do not give up trying to dislodge our units from their positions in the Dnieper direction. So, today they carried out three unsuccessful assaults on the positions of our defenders.

On Gulyai-pole and Seversky directions, the enemy did not conduct any active actions.

Ukraine has lost 43,000 military personnel since the beginning of a full – scale invasion-ZelenskyDec 8 2024, 11:19 AM • 19050 views

President Volodymyr Zelensky "would like to make a deal" and "stop the madness" regarding the war in Ukraine, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform following a meeting with the Ukrainian president in Paris on Dec. 7.

Trump and Zelensky met in Paris as world leaders gathered in the city for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the two for their first in person meeting since Trump won the elections in November.

"Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness … There should be an immediate ceasefire, and negotiations should begin," Trump said in his post.

"Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse," he wrote.

Zelensky addressed Trump's post on his Telegram channel on Dec. 8, saying the war “cannot be ended simply with a piece of paper and a few signatures,” warning that “a ceasefire without guarantees can be reignited at any moment, as (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has already done in the past.”

“To ensure there are no more Ukrainian losses, we must secure a reliable peace,” Zelensky added.“Turning a blind eye to occupation is not an option,” he said.

Trump's statement follows a presidential campaign in which he famously asserted that he could resolve the conflict within 24 hours if he were in charge, and an alleged phone call with Putin, during which Trump advised the Russian leader "not to escalate the situation in Ukraine."

Trump's statement also comes in the wake of the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, which the president-elect appears in his post to attribute to Russia's growing disinterest in the region.

"Assad is gone … His protector, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer," Trump also wrote in his post.

"They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever," he then added.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan echoed these statements, agreeing with comments made by Trump on X, in which Trump had stated that the situation in Syria arose because Russia is "so tied up in Ukraine" and has suffered heavy losses.

Indeed, state-controlled media outlet TASS reported that Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev said that Russia will "continue to support the people of Syria if necessary," but that "Syrians will have to handle the full-scale civil war on their own."

However, despite such claims, the Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR) reported that even as Aleppo fell on Dec. 3, Russia was still sending private mercenaries to support both Syrian and Russian troops in the country.

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In the Kiev region, as a result of the fall of the wreckage of downed drones, a private house, two outbuildings and a greenhouse were damaged. There were no casualties among the population, and the damage to the house is minor.

As a result of falling debris in the Kiev region, a private house, two outbuildings and a greenhouse were damaged. There were no casualties among the population.

This was announced by the head of the Kiev RMA Ruslan Kravchenko, reports UNN.

Details

Last night, the Russian enemy once again attacked the Kiev region with attack drones. Air defense forces worked in the region. There are destroyed targets. There were no casualties among the population. No hits were made on critical or residential infrastructure objects. As a result of falling debris from downed enemy targets in one of the settlements, 1 private house, 2 outbuildings and a greenhouse were damaged. Damage to the house is minor – broken windows, split facade

Kravchenko said.

The police of the Kiev region showed the consequences of the Russian attack.

recall

In the Kamenskoye District of the region, a 64-year-old woman was injured due to an enemy attack. Almost 30 applications have already been received from local residents about damaged property. Now in the Dnipropetrovsk region, work continues to eliminate the consequences of the enemy attack.

The Ukrainian military shot down 28 Russian drones but lost track of another 46 during a nighttime attack by Russian forces, the Air Force reported on Dec. 8.

The drones targeted multiple oblasts, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Russia launched a total of 74 drones at Ukraine, with the military successfully downing 28, the Air Force said in a Telegram post.

Forty-six unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) went off the radar, and their exact trajectories remain unknown.

Authorities reported damage to residential buildings caused by falling debris from downed Shahed drones during the overnight attack.

The attack follows a steady increase in Russia's use of Shahed-type kamikaze drones, marking the third consecutive month of intensified drone attacks on Ukraine.

Data from the Air Force shows a sharp rise in Russian drone activity, with 2,576 drones deployed in November, compared to 2,023 in October.

The Kremlin shows no signs of relenting in these nightly attacks.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is also bolstering its drone capabilities. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced on Dec. 5 that over 30,000 DeepStrike attack drones will be delivered to the military in 2025.

These next-generation drones are designed for autonomous long-distance operations and precision targeting, marking a significant advancement in Ukraine's defensive and offensive capabilities.

Russian drone strikes against Ukraine are surging to record levels — how bad can it get?For the third month in a row, the number of Shahed-type kamikaze drones launched by Russia at Ukraine surged to record levels. According to figures from Ukraine’s Air Force, Moscow deployed a total of 2,576 drones during November, up from 2,023 the month before. And the Kremlin clearlyThe Kyiv IndependentChris York