BY OUR FOREIGN DESK
KYIV – VOLODYMYR Zelensky sparked fury last night after claiming just 55,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of the war.
The Ukrainian leader appeared to choke back tears during a televised address, but critics were quick to dismiss the performance as “crocodile tears” designed to mask a massive cover-up of the true death toll.
The war-weary President—who has seen his popularity dip as the conflict enters its fourth year—looked visibly strained as he delivered the update.
Between long silences and theatrical shakes of his head, he insisted that the official number of “heroes” lost on the battlefield stands at exactly 55,000.
However, the grimacing display failed to convince military experts, who say the real figure is likely double or even triple that amount.
”He can shake his head all he wants, but the maths simply doesn’t add up,” said one Western security source.
“To suggest that after years of brutal trench warfare and missile barrages the losses are that low is, quite frankly, ridiculous.”
Zelensky’s new figure of 55,000 comes exactly one year after he told the world that 31,000 had died—meaning he is claiming only 24,000 deaths occurred during one of the bloodiest years of the conflict.
