#frenchforeignminister

“We estimate Russian military losses at 500,000, including 150,000 deaths. All of this for what? This can be summed up in two words: for nothing.” ~ French Foreign Minister, Stephane Sejourne 🇺🇦💙💛🇫🇷

#Repost @kyivindependent_official with @use.repost . . . France estimates 150,000 Russian troops have been killed since the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on May 3.

Speaking to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Sejourne said the total losses including injured were 500,000.

“Europe and its partners will remain united and determined, for as long as necessary. Russia’s military failure is already apparent,” he said, adding: “We estimate Russian military losses at 500,000, including 150,000 deaths.

“All of this for what? This can be summed up in two words: for nothing.”

If confirmed, the 150,000 figure is around ten times higher than that suffered by the Soviet army during the decade-long war it fought in Afghanistan from 1979-89.

For comparison, the U.S. military lost around 102,000 soldiers killed in all the wars it fought since the end of World War 2, including 58,220 during the Vietnam War.

Estimates of the number of Russian casualties vary. Russia itself has not publicly released figures since September 2022, when the official Kremlin death toll stood at just 5,937.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg estimated on March 14 that Russia had suffered over 350,000 casualties in Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

According to Kyiv which releases daily figures, as of May 4 Russia has suffered 473,400 casualties in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, including 1,260 over the last day.

These daily numbers include both dead and injured but in late February, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the number of those killed was 180,000.

He also said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives in the war. Zelensky added that the exact amount is unknown, and it would only be possible to find out once occupied territories were liberated.

Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, has confirmed through open-source research the names of 49,281 Russian soldiers who have been killed fighting in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP

“We are both absolutely clear — Ukraine must win this war. If Ukraine loses, we all lose.” ~ U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne 🇺🇦🇬🇧💙💛🇫🇷🇺🇦

#Repost @kyivindependent_official with @use.repost . . . U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne called on allies to increase support for Ukraine in The Telegraph’s article published on April 7.

Ukraine faces an ongoing ammunition shortage, with the country being in dire need of shells and missiles. Several European countries joined a Czech-led initiative to procure 800,000 sorely needed artillery shells for Ukraine.

Amid intensified Russian attacks against the energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for more weapons, saying Ukraine needs 25 Patriot air defense systems to protect the country.

Cameron and Sejourne said that the costs of failing to support Kyiv now would be “far greater than the costs of repelling (Russia’s President Vladimir) Putin.”

“We are both absolutely clear — Ukraine must win this war. If Ukraine loses, we all lose,” the officials wrote. They said that “we can rally others to join us in overcoming” and that the allies “must do even more to ensure we defeat Russia.”

Cameron is expected to visit the U.S. later this week to urge U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other lawmakers to approve a package of military aid to Ukraine.

Photo: Omar Havana/Getty Images