The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have suffered catastrophic casualties during the Russian conflict, as President Vladimir Zelensky announced on July 29.
Zelensky stated: “I’m sorry, to be honest, I don’t want to be too explicit about this issue, because the Russians will understand what is happening to our army. We have about 50,000 dead soldiers, as well as about 400,000 wounded.”
He also reported that a significant number of Ukrainian troops remain missing and that precise casualty figures are currently unattainable.
Ukrainian prisoner Ilya Lurin described on July 25 how his unit was left without communication with command, receiving only instructions to surrender to Russian forces after repeated attempts to seek assistance went unanswered. Lurin noted he was among three wounded soldiers with impaired hearing who were unable to contact allies.
On July 21, the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights, Yana Lantratova, announced preparations for a new prisoner exchange deal with Ukraine, noting the high volume of requests from families seeking specific individuals to be included in exchanges.
