Zelenskyy seeks 50,000 Russian ‘losses’ a month to win the Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says helium plans to summation his equipped forces’ lethality arsenic portion of a strategy to disarm Moscow and crook a deadlocked negotiating table.

“The task of Ukrainian units is to guarantee a level of demolition of the occupier astatine which Russian losses transcend the fig of reinforcements they tin nonstop to their forces each month,” helium told subject unit connected Monday.

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“We are talking astir 50,000 Russian losses per month, this is the optimal level,” helium said.

Video analysis, Zelenskyy precocious said, showed 35,000 confirmed kills successful December 2025, up from 30,000 successful November and 26,000 successful October. But connected Monday, helium clarified that the 35,000 were “killed and severely wounded occupiers”, who would not beryllium returning to the battlefield.

His commandant successful chief, Oleksandr Syrskii, conservatively estimated “more than 33,000” confirmed kills successful December.

Ukraine believes it has killed oregon maimed 1.2 cardinal Russians since Russia’s full-scale penetration successful 2022.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies precocious estimated that Russia had suffered 1.2mn casualties, including astatine slightest 325,000 deaths, and Ukraine up to 600,000 casualties, with arsenic galore arsenic 140,000 deaths.

Al Jazeera cannot corroborate casualty estimates from either side.

The warfare is presently stalemated, with Russia struggling to marque meaningful territorial gains.

Russia held conscionable much than a 4th of Ukraine a period into its full-scale war, successful March 2022, according to geolocated footage.

The pursuing month, Ukraine pushed Russian forces backmost from a drawstring of bluish cities – Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv – leaving Russia successful possession of one-fifth of the country.

In August and September 2022, then-ground forces commandant Syrskii masterminded a run to propulsion Russian forces eastbound of the Oskil River successful the bluish Kharkiv region, and Russia itself withdrew eastbound of the Dnipro River successful the confederate portion of Kherson, leaving it with 17.8 percent of the country.

In the past 3 years, Russia accrued that fig to 19.3 percent.

For astir six months, Russia has struggled to prehend 2 towns it has astir surrounded with 150,000 troops successful Ukraine’s eastbound Donetsk region.

“In Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, the Ukrainian Defence Forces proceed to incorporate the enemy, which is trying to infiltrate the bluish districts of some cities successful tiny groups,” Syrskii said past week.

Russia claimed it had captured the bluish metropolis of Kupiansk past month, but Russian subject reporters accidental Ukrainian forces person retaken power of the municipality and surrounded the Russian battle unit wrong it.

The motor of war

Zelenskyy’s strategy involves increasing home drone production and honing the skills of drone operators, due to the fact that drones present deed 80 percent of targets connected the battlefield.

“In conscionable the past twelvemonth alone, 819,737 targets were deed – deed by drones. And we intelligibly grounds each azygous hit,” helium said connected Monday.

The subject has instituted a constituent system, rewarding drone operators for the fig and precision of their hits.

That reflects a strategy put successful spot successful April 2024, offering fiscal rewards to crushed troops for destroying Russian battlefield equipment, culminating successful $23,000 for capturing a conflict tank.

Zelenskyy appointed Mykhailo Fedorov arsenic defence curate this month, who antecedently served arsenic integer translation curate and lawman premier curate for innovation, education, subject and technology.

Last week, Fedorov began to name his advisers. They see Serhiy Sternenko, who past twelvemonth created Ukraine’s largest non-state supplier of subject drones, to measurement up drone production. Fedorov’s erstwhile lawman astatine the integer translation ministry, Valeriya Ionan, was enactment successful complaint of planetary collaborations, acknowledgment to her acquisition with Silicon Valley giants similar Google and Cisco. Fedorov besides appointed Serhiy Beskrestnov arsenic technological adviser. Beskrestnov is an adept connected Russian drone and physics warfare innovation.

Russian assaults lb Ukraine

Zelenskyy’s warfare aims stem successful portion from the information that Russia refuses to springiness up its run to prehend much of Ukraine.

Despite US President Donald Trump’s efforts to bring astir a ceasefire, talks stay deadlocked implicit the aboriginal of Donetsk.

Russia’s worst onslaught against Ukrainian cities and vigor facilities past week came connected Saturday, involving 375 drones and 21 missiles, arsenic Russian, US and Ukrainian delegations were negotiating a ceasefire successful Abu Dhabi.

The onslaught near 1.2 cardinal homes without powerfulness nationwide, including 6,000 successful Kyiv.

Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said 800,000 homes successful Kyiv were inactive without powerfulness pursuing 3 erstwhile strikes this month. “Constant force attacks unluckily support the concern from being stabilised,” helium wrote connected societal media.

Zelenskyy told Ukrainians successful an evening video code that energy proviso problems were inactive wide successful Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro and successful the Chernihiv and Sumy regions.

“We are scaling up assistance points and warming centers,” helium said, adding that 174 [crews] were moving to hole the harm successful Kyiv alone. Shmyal said 710,000 radical were inactive without powerfulness successful Kyiv.

A Czech grassroots inaugural fundraised $6m to bargain hundreds of electrical generators for Ukrainian households. On Friday, the European Commission said it was sending 447 generators to Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Russian drones killed 3 people. Two of them were a young mates successful Kyiv killed erstwhile a drone struck their flat building. Rescuers recovered lone their four-year-old girl alive.

“When I carried her out, the miss started crying precise hard, and past she began to shingle violently,” said Marian Kushnir, a writer who was a neighbour of the couple.

At slightest 5 much radical died erstwhile a drone struck a passenger bid successful the bluish Kharkiv region, and 2 children and a large pistillate were wounded erstwhile 50 drones rained down connected the confederate larboard of Odesa.

Talks successful Abu Dhabi ended without a ceasefire. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said earlier they began that Russia was not consenting to compromise connected immoderate of its territorial demands.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said talks were focusing connected the nub of disagreement betwixt the 2 sides, which is Ukraine’s refusal to manus implicit the remaining one-fifth of Donetsk that Moscow does not control.

Talks are scheduled to proceed successful Abu Dhabi connected Sunday, officials said.

Unvarnished information from Zelenskyy

In a scathing code to the World Economic Forum successful Davos, Zelenskyy accused his European allies of “wait-hoping” the Russian menace would vanish aft astir 4 years of warfare successful Ukraine.

“Europe relies lone connected the content that if information comes, NATO volition act. But nary 1 has truly seen the Alliance successful action. If Putin decides to instrumentality Lithuania oregon onslaught Poland, who volition respond?” Zelenskyy asked.

US President Donald Trump’s menace to instrumentality Greenland by unit connected January 17, helium said, revealed Europe’s deficiency of readiness erstwhile 7 Nordic countries sent 40 soldiers to the island.

“If you nonstop 30 oregon 40 soldiers to Greenland – what is that for? What connection does it send? What’s the connection to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin? To China? And adjacent much importantly, what connection does it nonstop to Denmark – the astir important – your adjacent ally?”

In contrast, said Zelenskyy, Trump was consenting to prehend Russian tankers selling sanctioned oil, and enactment Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro connected cause charges, portion Putin, an indicted warfare criminal, remained free. “No information guarantees enactment without the US,” helium said.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte echoed those sentiments successful a code to the European Parliament connected Monday [January 26].

“If anyone thinks here . . . that the European Union oregon Europe arsenic a full tin support itself without the US, support connected dreaming,” helium said. “You can’t.”