Russia says 498 of its soldiers have died in Ukraine

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that 498 of its soldiers had died in Ukraine.

Russian officials reportedly acknowledged Sunday there had been casualties, but this was the country’s first time offering a specific number.

That number, however, stands in stark contrast to the figures cited by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During a video address on Wednesday, Zelensky said that close to 6,000 Russian soldiers had died within six days. 

​​”Think of this number: almost 6,000 Russians died. Russian military. In six days of war,” the Ukrainian president said. “This is without counting the losses of the enemy last night. Six thousand. To get what? Get Ukraine? It is impossible.”

Russia also said that 1,597 of its soldiers had been injured in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is reporting that more than 2,000 of its civilians have died from the conflict. 

“Children, women and defence forces are losing their lives every hour,” Ukraine’s emergency service said in a statement, according to Reuters.

A senior defense official said on Tuesday that the U.S. has seen “indications that morale is flagging in some of these units” because of Ukrainian resistance and said Russian troops had not made much progress toward their advance to the Ukrainian capital.

The official said that the lack of progress between Monday and Tuesday toward Kyiv was due to “fuel and logistics challenges,” such as a food shortage. 

The development comes roughly a week since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, which has since drawn criticism from the international community, quickly unifying people together to show solidarity for Ukraine.

That solidarity was especially on show on Tuesday before and during President Biden’s first State of the Union speech, where Biden and a bipartisan group of lawmakers wore the Ukrainian colors of yellow and blue.