Nearly two million Russian and Ukrainian soldiers killed or wounded in war
The New York Times cites a study published by the Center for Strategic International Studies
The number of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers killed, wounded or missing during the nearly four-year war is set to reach two million by next spring. The New York Times reports this, citing a study published by the Center for Strategic International Studies, according to which nearly 1.2 million Russian and 600,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, wounded, or are missing, bringing the tally close to 1.8 million.
Ft: US security guarantees to Ukraine if it cedes Donbass. But White House denies
Ahead of new negotiations to end the war in Ukraine between the US, Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi, set for Sunday 1 February, details of the talks are emerging even if their content is controversial. According to the Financial Times, which publishes the news exclusively, the Trump administration has let Ukraine know that US security guarantees are conditional on Kiev first agreeing to a peace deal that would likely involve ceding the Donbass region to Russia. Washington has also hinted that it would promise Ukraine more armaments to strengthen its army in peacetime if, as the price of peace with Russia, it agreed to withdraw its forces from the parts of the eastern region it controls.
Volodymyr Zelensky hopes to sign documents on security guarantees and a post-war 'prosperity plan' with the US as early as this month, giving Kiev leverage in future talks with Moscow. But Washington is now signalling that US security commitments depend on reaching an agreement with Russia.
Ukrainian and European officials have described the US position as an attempt to induce Kiev to make the painful territorial concessions that Moscow has always demanded in any agreement. The US has not yet given its final approval to either agreement, despite Zelensky saying that the texts of the security guarantees, discussed with President Donald Trump in Davos last week, were '100 per cent ready'.
The White House refuted the Financial Times' reconstruction that Ukraine would give up territorial claims in exchange for US security guarantees, said White House deputy spokeswoman Anna Kelly.
