Kiev: About 13 thousand Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the war; not 100,000

Contradicting the EU figures that put the estimate to more than 20,000 civilians and 100,000 soldiers have been killed, Ukrainian officials said today that "about 13 thousand Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the war."

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said today, Thursday, that up to 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia's special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

"We have official estimates from the General Staff that the number of dead ranges between 10,000 and 13,000," Podolyak added, on Ukrainian Channel 24, revealing that the country's president will publish official data "when the time comes."

And when Russian forces were seeking in June to take full control of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky said that his country was "losing 60 to 100 soldiers a day."

In September, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that "5,937 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the conflict."

According to these statements, it is suspected that the two warring parties are underestimating the size of their casualties in order to avoid a negative impact on the morale of their forces.

And the Chief of Staff of the US Army, General Mark Milley, said earlier last month that "more than 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the beginning of the Ukrainian war," noting that "the losses among the Ukrainian forces may be similar."

Yesterday, Thursday, European Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant announced, at a press conference from Brussels, that the Commission does not intend to apologize to Kiev after publishing information about the killing of 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers during the war.

"There was no need for an apology, we explained the context and reasons (for the statement) on social media," the spokeswoman said, adding: "We are working with Ukraine on common goals."

"According to estimates so far, more than 20,000 civilians and 100,000 soldiers have been killed (in Ukraine)," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.