About 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died defending their homeland from invading Russian armies in the three years since dictator Vladimir Putin launched the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a rare casualty update.

The tally differs sharply from estimates by U.S. officials and military analysts, who have said the number is closer to 70,000.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since 24 February 2022. Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram Quote from Zelenskyy: "I said [in France - ed.] that we need a just and strong peace that the Russians will not ruin in a few years,

The Ukrainian leader opened up about the casualties his country had sustained following a meeting with President-Elect Trump.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's rare admission of numbers came after US President-elect Donald Trump called for an "immediate ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia, saying "negotiations should begin" between the warring nations.

Around 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky said in a rare update on war casualties. The Ukrainian president said 370,000 injuries had been reported in a post on his social media and said that this tally included soldiers who had been hurt more than once and some of the injuries were said to be minor.