In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook early Saturday, March 12, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine.Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via Associated Press

  • Zelenskyy told CNN that Ukraine has lost between 2,500 and 3,000 troops since the war began.

  • In comparison, Russians have lost between 19,000 and 20,000, he said.

  • Zelenskyy had no estimate for civilian casualties, as some areas of the country are still under siege.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday told CNN he estimated the country has lost between 2,500 and 3,000 troops since the war began in February.

“As to our military, out of the numbers we have, we think that we lost 2,500 to 3,000, in comparison with the Russian military, who lost about 19 to 20,000,” Zelenskyy said. “That’s the comparison. But we have about 10,000 injured and it’s hard to say how many will survive”

Insider was unable to independently verify these numbers, but an anonymous NATO member estimated at the end of March that between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian troops have died in the conflict.

“As of now, based on the information we have, because it’s very difficult to talk about civilians since south of our country where the towns and cities are blocked,” Zelenskyy added, unable to estimate the number of civilian casualties.

“Kherson, Beridansk, Mariupol, further east, the area to the east web where Volnovakha is, we just don’t know how many people have died in that area that is blocked.”

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded 4,232 civilian casualties in Ukraine so far but says “the actual figures are considerably higher” due in part to the blockades Zelenskyy described in parts of the country.

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