The Ukrainian leader has called it the task of the Defense Ministry, the army, and all security forces
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky speaks in Kiev on January 27, 2026. © Global Look Press / Ukrainian presidential office
[RT] The
Ukrainian military should focus on inflicting the highest possible
casualties on Russia, Vladimir Zelensky has said, naming a figure of
50,000 Russian losses per month as an “optimal level” that troops should target.
Ukrainian
forces have for months been losing ground to a large-scale Russian
offensive. Neither side has officially reported on its own casualties
for some time, although Russian officials said last month that Ukraine had suffered almost 500,000 troop losses in 2025 alone.
Speaking at an event dedicated to an assessment of Ukrainian drone units’ effectiveness, Zelensky said that “when it comes to 50,000 Russian losses per month, this is the optimal level,” calling it “the task of the Ministry of Defense… the task of our army, all… the security forces of Ukraine to guarantee exactly such a level of Russian losses.”
The idea was initially floated by Ukraine’s newly appointed defense minister, Mikhail Fedorov, who called it one of Kiev’s “strategic goals”
during his first press conference in his new capacity. A close ally of
Zelensky, Fedorov said that the Ukrainian leader himself demanded the
military make the cost of continuing the conflict unacceptable for
Moscow.
“One needs to set the right goals,” Fedorov told
journalists, calling the kill quota one of them. His comments drew
condemnation from opposition MP Anna Skorokhod, who said Kiev should
prioritize ending the fighting and bringing exhausted troops home.
On
Monday, Zelensky claimed Russia had lost some 35,000 soldiers to deaths
and injuries in January. Moscow has previously accused the Ukrainian
leader of ignoring reality and downplaying Ukraine’s own losses. Earlier
this month, the head of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov,
said Kiev was sacrificing troops in a failed defensive effort and
falsifying a Ukrainian military presence in locations where there was
none.
Russia also accused Kiev of increasingly targeting civilians
in its attacks. As many as 45 people, including three minors, were
killed in Ukrainian strikes in Russia over the holiday season
from January 1 to 11, according to Moscow.