Ukraine Anger Over Von Der Leyen's Unverified '100,000 Dead Soldiers' Claim

Ukraine has hit back at a claim by the European Commission's president that 100,000 of Kyiv's troops have been killed since Russia's invasion in February

Ursula von der Leyen used the number in a video address, prompting Kyiv's armed forces to state that the death toll was "classified information." Footage of her speech has since been edited to cut the reference.

In Russia, the state-owned news agency Tass was among the media outlets to seize on the high figure and to say the European Commission had "removed information about 100,000 dead Ukrainian servicemen."

Von der Leyen's statement described how Russia's invasion of Ukraine had brought "devastation and unspeakable suffering." She said her organization, which is the executive branch of the European Union, would work with the International Criminal Court and set up a special court to make Russia "pay for its horrific crimes."

European Commission President Ursula Van Der Leyen
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, pictured at COP26 in Glasgow on November 1, 2021. In a video message on November 30, 2022, she said the European authorities had blocked €300 billion of Russian... Yves Herman/Getty Images

The video now available on von der Leyen's Twitter account lasts 2min 4sec and does not mention the Ukrainian death toll.

However, other Twitter users have shared a 2min 16sec version of the message that contains the sentence: "It is estimated that 20,000 civilians and more than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far." The president does not specify where this data has come from.

After the video was released, Bohdan Senyk, spokesperson for the armed forces of Ukraine, told Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda: "We cannot confirm this figure," adding: "We emphasize that the losses of the Ukrainian army are classified information and are subject to restrictions on publication."

Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne News reported that "this fragment from her video appeal was removed from social networks."

Ukrainian presidential spokesman Sergey Nikiforov told Suspilne that "the information about the losses is 'sensitive,' so it can only be disclosed by the commander-in-chief, the minister of defense, or the president himself."

The European Commission's deputy chief spokeswoman Dana Spinant tweeted a correction, writing: "Many thanks to those who pointed out the inaccuracy regarding the figures in a previous version of this video."

She added: "The estimation used, from external sources, should have referred to casualties, i.e. both killed and injured, and was meant to show Russia's brutality."

When contacted for further comment, the spokeswoman's assistant Quentin Cortes referred to Spinant's tweet and told Newsweek that she "also highlights that, regardless of the figures, the main focus and task we are focused on is the prosecution for the crime of aggression."

Senyk welcomed the rest of von der Leyen's speech, in which she said Moscow must pay compensation for the estimated €600 billion ($619 billion) of damage it has caused.

The EU has already blocked €300 billion of Russian money, the president added and would create a structure to invest the funds and use the proceeds to rebuild Ukraine.

"We can only support actions that will contribute to legal punishment for those who organized the genocide of the Ukrainian people," Senyk said.

Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian defense ministry for comment.

Update 01/12/22, 8:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a European Commission response.

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About the writer


Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more

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