(Reuters) – Ukraine’s armed forces have lost somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers so far in the war against Russia, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told a Ukrainian television network.
The remarks appeared to be the first estimate of dead since late August, when the head of the armed forces said nearly 9,000 military personnel had been killed.
“We have official figures from the general staff, we have official figures from the top command, and they amount to (between) 10,000 and 12,500 to 13,000 killed,” Podolyak told the Kanal 24 channel.
“We are open in talking about the number of dead,” he added, saying more soldiers had been wounded than had died.
Last month America’s top general estimated that Russia’s military had seen more than 100,000 of its soldiers killed and wounded in Ukraine, and added Kyiv’s armed forces “probably” suffered a similar level of casualties.
Zelenskiy advisor Oleksiy Arestovych, speaking in a video interview on Wednesday, said the Russian death toll was around seven times that of Ukraine’s.
In Other Developments
FIGHTING
* Ukraine’s armed forces have lost somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers so far in the war against Russia, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told a Ukrainian television network.
* Russia’s Defence Ministry and the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration said the two countries had swapped 50 service personnel in the latest prisoner exchange between the two sides.
* Russian rockets pounded neighbourhoods in Kherson knocking out power in the city where electricity had only begun to be restored nearly three weeks after Russian troops left.
* Ukraine’s armed forces reported heavy shelling of a number of eastern frontline villages near the city of Bakhmut.
* Ukraine’s military said it had found fragments of Russian-fired nuclear-capable missiles with dud warheads in western Ukraine, and that their apparent purpose was to distract air defences.
* Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko told residents to stock up on water, food and warm clothes in the event of a total blackout caused by Russian strikes.
DIPLOMACY, FOREIGN RESPONSE
* Biden and Macron presented a united front on Ukraine at the White House, and Biden said he would talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin if he is willing to end the invasion.
* European Union governments tentatively agreed on a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, with an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5% below the market price, an EU diplomat said.
* Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure have increased the cost to keep Ukraine’s economy going next year, adding up to $1 billion a month to previous estimates of $3-$4 billion, the head of the International Monetary Fund told the Reuters NEXT conference.
* The European Union needs patience as it imposes sanctions on Russia as most measures will only have an impact in the medium and long term, Lithuania’s prime minister said at the Reuters NEXT conference.
* Spain has stepped up security at public and diplomatic buildings after a spate of letter bombs, including one sent to the prime minister and another to the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid, where an official suffered minor injuries.
NUCLEAR
* Ukraine sacked a top engineer at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, accusing him of collaborating with Russian forces, and urged other Ukrainian staff at the plant to remain loyal to the Kyiv government.
