Ukraine loses tens of thousands troops since war began, media reports

Ukraine has lost tens of thousands soldiers since the Russian invasion of Ukraine over year ago, though Kiev still continues to deny lacking troops, Spanish newspaper reported on Monday.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in her interview with the media outlet dismissed reports of a shortage of personnel in the country's armed forced.

On Thursday, the British news outlet reported that Ukraine was taking heavy losses in the battle for Artemovsk, adding that some Ukrainian servicemen had suggested it might be reasonable to retreat. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also said last week that it would not be an "operational or strategic setback", if the Ukrainian army withdrew from the city.

In late November, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of the hostilities in February 2022.

However, the line with the number of causalities was later removed from the written and video versions of von der Leyen's speech.

European Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson Dana Spinant explained that an "inaccuracy" had taken place due to estimation based on data "from external sources." She also said that the assessment "should have referred to casualties, i.e. both killed and injured."