Zelensky tells military to focus on killing Russians

The Ukrainian leader has called it the task of the Defense Ministry, the army, and all security forces

The Ukrainian military should focus on inflicting the highest possible casualties on Russia, Vladimir Zelensky has said. The Ukrainian leader named a figure of 50,000 Russian losses per month as an “optimal level” the troops should strive for as he spoke at an event dedicated to the assessment of Ukrainian drone units’ effectiveness.

Ukrainian forces have been gradually losing ground to a large-scale Russian offensive, which has continued for many months. Neither side has officially reported on its own casualties for a long time, only giving losses suffered by the other side.

“When it comes to 50,000 Russian losses per month, this is the optimal level,” Zelensky said, 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.”

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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,” he told journalists, calling the kill quota one of them. His words drew condemnation from an opposition MP, Anna Skorokhod, who said Kiev should prioritize ending the fighting and bringing exhausted troops home.

On Monday, Zelensky claimed that 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 that 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 lasting from January 1 to January 11, according to Moscow.