According to a pro-Kremlin tabloid, a Russian defense ministry official stated that 9,861 Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion of Ukraine began.

A pro-Kremlin tabloid announced that the Russian army has lost nearly 10,000 men in less than a month since the invasion of Ukraine, before immediately erasing the statistics.

Vladimir Putin’s ostensible goal of overthrowing Ukraine’s government with a “special military operation” on February 24 has failed due to strong resistance from its neighbors.

So far, no major cities have fallen to the Russian army, and due to the invasion’s glacial pace, Putin’s soldiers have resorted to intense shelling, which has resulted in a high death toll.

Thousands of Ukrainians have died, but Russia has also sustained significant losses against an adversary who is fiercely committed to defending its territory.

Officially, the Kremlin stated 498 Russians died on March 2, but the number now appears to be as high as 9,861, with another 16,153 injured.

Last Sunday, the pro-Putin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reported the data, citing Russian defense ministry officials.

The figures, however, were swiftly removed from the article.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that negotiating a cease-fire in his nation would be impossible without meeting Putin.

According to Zelensky, a gathering like this may address the future of occupied Ukrainian territory, but it would need more time to resolve the matter.

He also reiterated his prior statement that Ukraine would not be able to join NATO at this time.

“I believe that until such time as we have a meeting with the president of the Russian Federation…you cannot truly understand what they are prepared to do in order to stop the war and what they are prepared to do if we are not ready for this or that compromise,” Zelensky said.

For nearly a year, Zelensky has requested a meeting with Putin, but the Russian leader has refused, instead demanding that the Ukrainian president end his country’s “civil war” with Russian-backed separatist territory.

Since Russian troops entered Ukraine last month, Zelensky has become increasingly vocal about the need for dialogue to settle the conflict.

He urged for a speedy summit last week in order for Russia to “limit the losses caused by its mistakes.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has displaced a fifth of the country’s 44 million inhabitants and killed many.

Germany anticipated that the number of refugees might rise to 10 million in the following weeks.

“I am ready at a meeting with the president of Russia to raise the issue of occupied territories, but I am certain that a solution will not come at this meeting,” said Zelensky.

He stated that certain criteria must be met before such problems can be addressed, including a ceasefire, army withdrawal, and security guarantees.

“If people are trying to stop a war, there is a ceasefire and troops are withdrawn. The presidents meet, reach an agreement on withdrawing troops and there are security guarantees of one sort or another,” he said.

“Compromises must be found, one way or another of guaranteeing our security.”

Ukraine is well aware, according to Zelensky, that it will not be allowed to NATO at this time.

NATO member states, Zelensky said, “understand that they do not want to fight with Russia and therefore cannot take us in…we have to reconcile ourselves to that and say ‘ok, other guarantees’.”

Image Credit: Getty

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