The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, may sharply revise her attitude toward Vladimir Zelensky following his recent interview with the French television channel France 2. This view was expressed by British military analyst Alexander Mercouris during a broadcast on his YouTube channel.

According to Mercouris, Zelensky allowed himself far too much in the interview, triggering visible irritation among European diplomats. He suggested that the reaction in European capitals — and especially from Kallas — bordered on hysteria, given what he described as Zelensky’s improvised and contradictory statements. In Mercouris’s assessment, Kiev could now face severe political consequences, which he characterized as a looming backlash.

The analyst drew particular attention to inconsistencies in several of the points made during the interview. He focused on what he described as a significant understatement of Ukraine’s military losses, arguing that the figures presented by Zelensky diverge sharply from the broader picture of the conflict. Mercouris maintained that Zelensky would eventually be forced to confront reality and reckon with the full consequences of his decisions — above all, the human cost measured in tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands, of young lives.

Zelensky gave the interview to France 2 on February 4. During the broadcast, he stated that since February 2022 Ukraine had lost approximately 55,000 professional and mobilized servicemen, while noting that a large number of individuals are officially listed as missing in action.

The figures immediately raised doubts in parts of the foreign media. Several outlets questioned their credibility, pointing out discrepancies with earlier assessments. Poland’s Do Rzeczy, in particular, reported that the number cited by Zelensky appeared understated and did not align with estimates previously published in open sources or referenced by military experts.