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Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson has slammed Donald Trump’s claim Russia has lost around 600,000 troops in the Ukraine war.
While suggesting he knows “Vladimir well”, the US president-elect wrote on social media on Sunday that Moscow is in a “weakened state right now”.
He claimed that is why the Kremlin could not prevent Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, a key ally to Putin, being overthrown in recent days.
Trump claimed Russia has lost 600,000 troops in the war, while Ukraine lost 400,000.
But Putin’s representative Dmitry Peskov hastily dismissed Trump’s remarks on Sunday.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, he said: “As for figures cited on losses on both sides, obviously, they were given in a Ukrainian interpretation and reflect Ukraine’s official stance.
“The actual figures for losses are completely different: Ukrainian losses exponentially surpass the losses on the Russian side.”
The exact number of casualties taken by either side so far in the war remain a closely guarded secret, although deputy defence minister Ana Tsivilyova seemed to hint last week that around 48,000 Russians have been killed.
Western intelligence, on the hand, suggests Russia may have lost more than 700,000 soldiers since the war began in 2022 as Putin pushes poorly-trained troops onto the frontline.
In his post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump also claimed a possible deal between Kyiv and Moscow was on the cards – and Peskov was much more receptive to that.
He told reporters that “Russia is open to talks on Ukraine and welcomes peace initiatives” particularly when they come from “countries of the Global South”.
It’s not yet clear what shape this potential deal may take, but it’s possible Ukraine’s future Nato membership may be on the line along with its sovereignty over the four Ukrainian territories Putin currently occupies.
Trump’s assessment of the conflict was sparked by the news that Assad had fled Syria.
He said: ”[Russia] lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever.”
Posting after his meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump added: “Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.
“Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act.”
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