The Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, stated during a UN Security Council meeting on April 20 that Russia is losing approximately 250 of its soldiers for every square kilometer of seized Ukrainian territory. He provided this statistic while analyzing the cost of the invasion for the Russian Federation.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Donbas: Potential Losses for Russia in the Event of a Full Capture
According to Melnyk, the territories of Donbas that Russia seeks to acquire without a fight amount to about 6,000 square kilometers. If we apply the formula he mentioned, an attempt to seize these lands by force would cost Russia approximately 1.5 million military lives. The Ukrainian diplomat emphasized that this would mean doubling the losses Russia has already suffered in this war, with the total number of casualties exceeding 3 million.
“This math is truly staggering. In practice, it would effectively mean more than doubling the current human losses for Russia in this war. Thus, the total number of casualties would exceed three million. Even for Mr. Putin, for whom the value he places on the lives of his own citizens seems to be worth less than a penny or a ruble, such a figure would be catastrophic,” Melnyk noted.
Melnyk explained that this is why Russia is trying to achieve concessions regarding Donbas through diplomatic pressure rather than direct military assault. He stressed that Ukraine will not voluntarily agree to relinquish its territories.
Estimation of the Potential Cost of Occupying All of Ukraine
The diplomat also provided calculations regarding the possible cost of occupying all of Ukraine: according to him, Russia would need about 122 million soldiers for this, which is nearly equal to the entire population of the country, including children and retirees. Melnyk ironically noted that such a “victory” at the pace of advancement currently demonstrated by Russian troops would take over 180 years.
The Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN called on the US to increase pressure on Russia, while European countries should prevent Moscow from using a shadow fleet to circumvent oil sanctions and raise the level of military support for Ukraine to 1% of the GDP of each country.
In response, the head of the Russian mission to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, accused European leaders of “Russophobia” and spoke about the difficult situation in Ukraine due to mobilization. He expressed the opinion that the continuation of the war is allegedly due to the desire of the Ukrainian leadership, along with European allies, to engage in combat.
Nebenzya also noted that Europe is considering the possibility of returning male refugees to Ukraine and is launching mass production of weapons to support Kyiv, and the outcome of such a scenario, in his opinion, would be tragic for Ukraine.
The question of territorial resolutions remains relevant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly emphasized that Ukraine will not make concessions regarding its lands. He also stressed that decisions regarding possible compromises must be made by the Ukrainian people in elections or a referendum.
In December, Zelensky stated that all territorial issues should be resolved by the people of Ukraine, while Putin’s assistant Yuri Ushakov denied this position at the time, claiming that “the entire Donbas is Russian.”
Throughout January and February 2026, trilateral negotiations took place between Ukraine, the US, and Russia to find ways to end the war, but no significant results were officially announced.