Ukrainian MP believes WSJ data on Ukrainian losses is exaggerated

Data presented by The Wall Street Journal suggesting that 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war with Russia is overstated, Colonel Roman Kostenko from Ukraine's Security Service has said. Kostenko is an MP from the Holos (Voice) party and secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence.

Source: Kostenko on Radio Liberty

Quote: "I think these figures are exaggerated. Definitely. This is particularly evident if we consider the number of confirmed deaths.

If we take the last two years, about 19,000 of our troops were killed in each year. And that’s only those [whose deaths were] officially confirmed and who had death certificates issued. We know there are other people who are missing. I think the figure estimated here is  the same. I don't have the most accurate data to say these figures are 100% correct. I think they are approximate [here Kostenko is referring to the figure of 50,000 losses – ed.]."

Details: Kostenko believes the figure of 50,000 Ukrainian military personnel killed in action may also be overestimated or approximate, though he noted that he does not have precise information about Ukrainian losses.

With regard to whether Ukraine will be able to continue to defend itself given the losses, the MP believes that the country still has enough mobilisation resources. He says everything depends on Ukraine's ability to enlist more troops and the challenges posed by Russia.

Quote: "It will depend on what kind of hostilities the Russian Federation conducts against us and what kind of direct response we need to give to what the Russians are doing. If Russia goes for mobilisation, we will also need to carry out mobilisation and draw on mobilisation resources. We do have these. We have soldiers, we have people who can fight. They just don't want to join the Armed Forces at the moment."

Background: The Wall Street Journal has estimated that the combined losses of Russian and Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 could surpass one million troops.

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