Zelenskyy reveals 55,000 Ukrainian death toll as peace talks continue

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Ukrainian forces have lost over 55,000 people over the course of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Thursday.

Zelenskyy made the announcement as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian negotiators meet in for a second day of talks Abu Dhabi this week. Zelenskyy also said a “large number of people” are missing in Ukraine.

The total is lower than an independent estimate from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, which published a report last week which found that there have been nearly 500,000 total people killed and 1.5 million wounded or injured on both sides of the conflict. That includes an estimated 140,000 troops killed for Ukraine, compared to 325,000 for Russia.

RUSSIA FIRES NEW BALLISTIC MISSILE AT UKRAINE, KILLING AT LEAST FOUR

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has lost 55,000 troops over the course of Russia’s invasion. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

Russia carried out its largest ballistic missile attack of the war earlier this week, targeting Ukrainian infrastructure with more than 70 missiles and 450 attack drones, Zelenskyy said Tuesday.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said five people were injured and three more were rescued in Kharkiv after a drone strike caused a fire in a residential high-rise building.

The large-scale strikes came after President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to pause attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for one week, as freezing temperatures caused widespread power and heating outages.

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grave sites in ukraine

Gracesites for victims of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. (ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump announced the week-long pause last Thursday, but Russia resumed its attacks several days before the period was set to expire, striking a maternity ward in Zaporizhzhia and a bus of Ukrainian miners, leaving 12 people dead.

Zelenskyy said the work of his negotiating team will be “adjusted accordingly” as his country prepared for this week’s round of meetings in the United Arab Emirates with U.S. and Russian officials on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ukrainian military medics

Ukrainian military medics of the 47th Brigade shift an injured comrade to a stretcher at the field hospital in Avdiivka direction, Donetsk region, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with his Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev in Florida on Saturday and said the discussions were constructive, amid ongoing hostilities.

Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

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