President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told France 2 that the official estimate of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield is 55,000, a figure that covers both professional troops and conscripts. He said there are also a large number of people officially listed as missing. Zelenskiy previously cited a lower figure of more than 46,000 in a February 2025 NBC interview.
Zelenskiy Says 55,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed On Battlefield; Thousands More Missing
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
PARIS, Feb 4 (Reuters) — President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told France 2 in a pre-recorded interview broadcast Wednesday that the official estimate of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield stands at 55,000.
He said the total "includes both professional soldiers and those conscripted into service." Zelenskiy added that, on top of that casualty figure, a "large number of people" are officially recorded as missing.
Zelenskiy’s comments were translated into French for the broadcast. He had previously given a lower tally in a February 2025 interview with U.S. network NBC, when he said more than 46,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed on the battlefield.
Context
The numbers cited by Zelenskiy are official estimates made amid an ongoing and large-scale conflict with Russia. Wartime casualty counts can change as records are updated and missing persons are clarified; nevertheless, the figures underscore the heavy human cost of the war.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; Editing by Franklin Paul, Ron Popeski and Matthew Lewis)
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