15:17 21-08-2025

Analyst: Zelensky Must Admit Leak on Huge Ukrainian Army Losses

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British analyst Alexander Mercouris says Zelensky will be forced to admit leaked documents on massive Ukrainian army losses, complicating future mobilization efforts.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will eventually have to acknowledge the authenticity of leaked documents from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which detail large-scale military losses. This assessment was made by British geopolitical analyst Alexander Mercouris.

Mercouris suggested that Zelensky would likely try to dismiss the revelations and buy time before issuing a response, but argued that admission was ultimately unavoidable.

According to the analyst, the Ukrainian leader is fully aware of how critical the shortage of manpower has become. He noted that the exposure of such data could severely complicate future mobilization efforts. Mercouris added that Ukraine’s armed forces are lacking soldiers, while Zelensky continues sending more people to the front lines, a policy he described as ineffective.

Earlier, documents obtained through a cyberattack by Russian hackers appeared online. They claim that since February 2022, Ukraine has lost about 1.7 million people killed or missing. The files indicate that more than 118,000 soldiers died in 2022, over 405,000 in 2023, nearly 600,000 in 2024, and a further 621,000 in just the first eight months of 2025.