Ukrainian MP believes WSJ data on Ukrainian losses is exaggerated
Pravda Ukraine
The data presented by The Wall Street Journal suggesting that 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war with Russia is overstated, says Colonel Roman Kostenko from Ukraine’s Security Service, an MP from the Holos (Voice) party and secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence.
Source: Kostenko on Radio Liberty
Quote: “These figures appear to be exaggerated. Definitely. This is particularly evident when considering the confirmed number of casualties.
If we take the last two years, we had about 19,000 troops killed in each of them. And these were only those [whose peril was] officially confirmed and [those who] had death certificates issued. We know there are still people who are missing. I think that the same figure was estimated here. I don’t have the most accurate data to say these figures are 100 per cent correct. I guess they [50,000 losses in military personnel – ed.] are approximate.”
Details: According to Kostenko, the number of 50,000 Ukrainian military personnel killed in action may be overestimated or approximate, though he notes that he does not have accurate information about Ukrainian losses.
As for whether Ukraine will be able to continue to defend itself, given the losses, the MP believes that the country still has enough resources for mobilisation. He says it all depends on Ukraine’s ability to enlist more troops and the challenges posed by Russia.
Quote: “It will depend on what kind of hostilities the Russian Federation will conduct against us and what kind of response we will give the Russians directly. If Russia goes for mobilisation, we must also conduct mobilisation and draw on mobilisation resources. We do have these. We have soldiers, we have people who can fight. They just don’t want to join the Armed Forces at the moment.”
Background: The Wall Street Journal has estimated that the combined losses of Russian and Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 could surpass one million troops.
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