Zelensky aide reveals up to 13,000 Ukrainian war dead

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior official and adviser to President Zelensky, has said up to 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of Russia’s invasion. 

At present, neither Ukraine nor Russia tend to release figures for casualties and Mr Podolyak’s comments have not been confirmed by the Ukrainian military. 

In June he said between 100 and 200 Ukrainian soldiers were dying daily. 

Last month, US general Mark Milley, claimed around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed or wounded since the start of the war. 

Mr Podolyak was speaking to Ukrainian TV outlet Channel 24 and said Kyiv was “openly talking about the number of the killed.” 

“We have official evaluations by the General Staff, official evaluations by the commander-in-chief [Mr Zelensky], and they range from 10,000 to 12,500-13,000 killed,” he said.

Mr Podolyak also suggested that up to 100,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since the invasion began on 24 February and that a further 100,000 to 150,000 had been wounded, or were missing or unable to return to combat.