Has Ukraine’s Army Been Reduced by Almost 50%?
Ursula von Der Leyen’s did the unthinkable today — she told the truth. During a speech condemning Russia for committing war crimes, she noted in passing that 100,000 Ukrainian “officers” (sic) have been killed since the start of the Russian special military operation.
Ukraine has hit back at a claim by the European Commission’s president that 100,000 of Kyiv’s troops have been killed since Russia’s invasion in February.
Ursula von der Leyen used the number in a video address, prompting Kyiv’s armed forces to state that the death toll was “classified information.” Footage of her speech has since been edited to cut the reference.
The European Union stupidly tried to walk this back by erasing von der Leyen’s claim from the internet. That “walk back” failed.
I do not believe that von der Leyen misspoke nor did she fabricate the number. If it really was an error of fact all she had to do was issue a statement to that effect, e.g., “Mea culpa, I meant to say 10,000 not 100,000”. She did not do that. She pretended she never said what she said.
If the 100,000 dead number is true, then that means Ukraine’s total casualties — i.e., killed and wounded — is approximately 400,000. In other words, Ukraine has suffered almost 40% casualties since the start of the fighting. During the 20th Century, this type of modern warfare normally saw 3 wounded soldiers for every man killed. Using that ratio we get the 400,000 number for total casualties.
When the war kicked off in February, Ukraine’s total manpower for ground forces was 1,125,000:
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Ukraine has 196,600 active military personnel.
This breaks down into 125,600 ground troops, 35,000 airmen and 15,000 naval troops.
It can also count on 900,000 reservists although, as recent images of civilians holding wooden rifles suggest, not all of these forces are necessarily well equipped.
Is the 100,000 number of fatalities credible? Yes. If you consider that 275 days have come and gone since the start of Russia’s Special Military Operation on 24 February 2022, there must be an average of 364 KIA to reach the 100,000 dead figure. If you have followed the daily Russian MOD briefings, you would realize this is an accurate number.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/ukraines-army-reduced-almost-50/
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-russia-von-der-leyen-death-toll-1763553
https://ukrainewar.info/russian-ukrainian-war-how-big-is-the-ukrainian-army-size-of-the-armed-forces-compared-to-russia-uk-usa-and-nato/