55,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in war with Russia — Zelenskiy

The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield as a result of the country's war with Russia is estimated at 55,000, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told France 2 TV on Wednesday.

Sudip Kar-Gupta/Reuters

5 February 2026 at 05:07:35

Workers repair a pipe at a compound of Darnytsia Thermal Power Plant which was heavily damaged by recent Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 4, 2026.

RValentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

PARIS - The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield as a result of the country's war with Russia is estimated at 55,000, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told France 2 TV on Wednesday.

"In Ukraine, officially the number of soldiers killed on the battlefield - either professionals or those conscripted - is 55,000," said Zelenskiy, in a pre-recorded interview that was broadcast on Wednesday.

Zelenskiy, whose comments were translated into French, added that on top of that casualty figure was a "large number of people" considered officially missing.

Zelenskiy had previously cited a figure for Ukrainian war dead in an interview with the U.S. television network NBC in February 2025, saying that more than 46,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed on the battlefield.

Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris, Editing by Franklin Paul, Ron Popeski and Matthew Lewis/Reuters