Fifty-five thousand Ukrainian soldiers killed on battlefield, Zelensky tells French TV

The estimate includes both professional soldiers and conscripts, he says

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to the media during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine Feb 3, 2026. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov

The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield as a result of the country's war with Russia is estimated at 55,000, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told France 2 TV on Wednesday.

"In Ukraine, officially the number of soldiers killed on the battlefield - either professionals or those conscripted - is 55,000," said Zelensky, in a pre-recorded interview that was broadcast on Wednesday.

Zelensky, whose comments were translated into French, added that on top of that casualty figure was a "large number of people" considered officially missing.

Zelensky had previously cited a figure for Ukrainian war dead in an interview with the US television network NBC in February 2025, saying that more than 46,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed on the battlefield.