Veteran weighs in on disclosing Ukraine's war losses – NV interview

Servant of the People faction leader David Arakhamia recently proposed disclosing Ukraine's losses in the full-scale Russian invasion, citing figures “significantly less” than 100,000, sparking discussions among experts, including war veteran and reserve major Oleksiy Hetman, who shared his thoughts on it in an interview with Radio NV on Jan. 27.

"Those who are not a majority (in parliament) proposed to the government, to President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy, to disclose the losses we suffer in the war so that people know what is happening, to contribute to mobilization, paradoxical as it may sound,” said Hetman.

“At that time, the President's Office reacted, stating that it was inappropriate. If now the head of the Servant of the People faction has started talking about it, the decision is probably already made.”

Hetman is confident that we will soon see this information: "The authorities would like (the proposal) to come from the pro-government forces, not the opposition.”

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“There is no need to compete in this sense. But I am confident that we will see this information soon."

Hetman emphasizes that the data on losses must be truthful.

"Such information should not be distorted. This can be done in the Russian Federation, but we cannot do it because then it will be unclear how to rectify the situation.”

“Later, when we report on the losses of Russians in our General Staff's summary, I am confident that we should also mention our own losses. It may not be very pleasant, but I think we should do it," he concluded.

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In April 2023, the Pentagon estimated the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at about 130,000 people in published classified documents, with approximately 17,000 killed.

After the joint decision of all military personnel, Ukraine does not disclose its losses, but the government is aware of these figures, Zelenskyy told BBC on May 11.

Ukraine's losses from the start of the full-scale Russian invasion are at least five times lower than those of the aggressor country, Zelenskyy stated during the Reuters Next conference on Nov. 8.

Read also: Former Aidar leader warns Ukraine fighting troop shortages, mobilization not offsetting mounting casualties

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