Zelenskyy reveals the real figures: ‘695,000 Russian troops on Ukrainian territory’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that approximately 695,000 Russian troops are currently deployed on Ukrainian territory, with an additional 52,000 stationed just across the border in Russia near the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.

"As of today, there are 695,000 Russian troops on Ukrainian territory. Plus the Kursk and Belgorod directions — I mean where they are positioned across from Kharkiv and Sumy. So there's also a corresponding number of personnel on the Sumy front, approximately 52,000," Zelenskyy said.

Back in November 2024, a source within Ukraine's General Staff told RBC Ukraine that Russian forces in the country numbered around 575,000 at the time, marking a sharp increase in recent months.

Meanwhile, Kyiv has reported that Russian losses have now reached 1,010,000 since the war began in February 2022. Ukrainian officials accuse Moscow of systematically concealing the true scale of its casualties.

Earlier this month, Zelenskyy revealed that several bodies returned to Kyiv as part of a prisoner exchange were actually fallen Russian soldiers, not Ukrainians.

As of now, no date has been set for a new prisoner exchange or for peace negotiations.

(QG - Source: RBC Ukraine - Picture : © Unsplash)