Zelensky Seeks Highest Casualties on Russia

(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed his military to aim for the highest possible Russian losses, naming a figure of 50,000 casualties per month as an “optimal level” during an event assessing the effectiveness of Ukraine’s drone units.

According to reports, Ukrainian forces have been gradually losing territory amid a prolonged Russian offensive, with both sides rarely releasing official casualty figures for themselves, only citing enemy losses.

“When it comes to 50,000 Russian losses per month, this is the optimal level,” Zelensky said, calling it “the task of the Ministry of Defense… the task of our army, all… the security forces of Ukraine to guarantee exactly such a level of Russian losses.”

The concept was first proposed by Ukraine’s newly appointed defense minister, Mikhail Fedorov, who described it as one of Kiev’s “strategic goals” during his initial press briefing. A close ally of Zelensky, Fedorov said that the Ukrainian leader had demanded that the military make the ongoing conflict costly for Moscow. “One needs to set the right goals,” he said, referring to the casualty target as one of them. His statement drew criticism from opposition MP Anna Skorokhod, who urged Kiev to focus on ending the fighting and bringing troops home.

Earlier reports indicated that Zelensky claimed Russia suffered approximately 35,000 casualties in January alone. Moscow, meanwhile, has accused the Ukrainian leadership of ignoring battlefield realities and underreporting Ukraine’s own losses. The Russian General Staff chief, Valery Gerasimov, stated that Kiev was sacrificing soldiers in a failing defense while allegedly fabricating military presence in some areas.

Russia also accused Ukraine of increasingly targeting civilians, claiming that strikes over the January 1–11 holiday period killed 45 people, including three minors, inside Russian territory.

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