More than 100,000 Russian troops — and about as many Ukrainian troops — are estimated to have died or been injured in the war so far, according to Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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“You’re looking at well over 100,000 Russian soldiers killed and wounded,” Milley told the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday. “Same thing probably on the Ukrainian side.”
Some 40,000 civilians have also been killed or injured in the war, Milley said. “There has been a tremendous amount of suffering, human suffering,” he added. The Washington Post could not independently verify the figures.
Milley’s figure is a sharp increase from the Pentagon’s August estimate of 70,000 to 80,000 Russian casualties. For comparison, the Soviet Union said in 1988 that it lost more than 13,000 soldiers, and that more than 35,000 were injured, in Afghanistan during the war it fought there.
It comes as the Biden administration has encouraged Ukraine to be more open to talks with Russia amid growing unease in the West about the cost of a protracted conflict that has caused the price of energy and foodstuffs to skyrocket.
U.S. privately asks Ukraine to show it’s open to negotiate with Russia
Officials in Kyiv say they are open to negotiating with Russia but have set preconditions, including the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine’s territory, an agreement on compensation from Russia for war damage and security guarantees from other countries.
As The Post has reported, the Biden administration’s outreach to Ukraine on peace talks has included a request for officials there to drop their public refusal to negotiate with Russia’s leader, President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has also signaled it is open to talks, but its own preconditions appear to be at odds with those of Ukraine: After Russia illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine, Putin said that “the only way to peace” is for Ukraine and the West to recognize that the people of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia “have become our citizens, forever.”
Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“You’re looking at well over 100,000 Russian soldiers killed and wounded,” Milley told the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday. “Same thing probably on the Ukrainian side.”
Some 40,000 civilians have also been killed or injured in the war, Milley said. “There has been a tremendous amount of suffering, human suffering,” he added. The Washington Post could not independently verify the figures.
Milley’s figure is a sharp increase from the Pentagon’s August estimate of 70,000 to 80,000 Russian casualties. For comparison, the Soviet Union said in 1988 that it lost more than 13,000 soldiers, and that more than 35,000 were injured, in Afghanistan during the war it fought there.
It comes as the Biden administration has encouraged Ukraine to be more open to talks with Russia amid growing unease in the West about the cost of a protracted conflict that has caused the price of energy and foodstuffs to skyrocket.
U.S. privately asks Ukraine to show it’s open to negotiate with Russia
Officials in Kyiv say they are open to negotiating with Russia but have set preconditions, including the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine’s territory, an agreement on compensation from Russia for war damage and security guarantees from other countries.
As The Post has reported, the Biden administration’s outreach to Ukraine on peace talks has included a request for officials there to drop their public refusal to negotiate with Russia’s leader, President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has also signaled it is open to talks, but its own preconditions appear to be at odds with those of Ukraine: After Russia illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine, Putin said that “the only way to peace” is for Ukraine and the West to recognize that the people of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia “have become our citizens, forever.”
