Ukraine says it lost nearly 9,000 troops in war

Nearly 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war with Russia, the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Monday.

The number given by General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi appears to be the first provided by Ukraine’s top military since the February 24 invasion of Russia.

Zaluzhnyi, commander in chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, told a conference held to honor military veterans and the families of the dead that children needed protection in various parts of the country, including the capital Kiev.

“They really don’t understand what’s going on and they definitely need protection…Because their father went to the front and is possibly among the nearly 9,000 heroes that were killed,” he said.

Zaluzhnyi did not provide details and did not say whether the number he cited included all personnel killed in action, such as border guards. President Volodymr Zelenksky stated at the conference that around 1 million people were defending Ukraine as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces or other services.

The general did not say how many civilians were killed or how many Russians Kiev estimates were killed in the fighting, but the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces put the Russian military death toll at 45,400. Russia did not say how many of its soldiers were killed.

Reuters was unable to verify the losses suffered by both sides during what Russia says is a “special military operation” to demilitarize its smaller neighbor and protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and its Western supporters accuse Moscow of waging an imperial-style war of conquest.