Ukraine says casualty figures in war cannot be disclosed

KYIV

Ukrainian officials on Wednesday refused to confirm casualty figures in its war with Russia, after the EU Commission chief in a now-deleted video estimated that "over 20,000 civilians and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in Ukraine to date."

Ursula von der Leyen said Moscow’s war on Ukraine brought death, devastation and suffering, and detailed a plan to confiscate frozen Russian state and private assets to compensate Ukraine.

The video, however, was soon removed and reposted with that sentence cut out.

Ukrainian authorities have declined to confirm the number mentioned by the EU official.

Bohdan Senyk, head of the Press Service of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said: “We cannot confirm this figure, we emphasize that the casualties of the Ukrainian army are official information and are subject to broadcast restrictions.”

Meanwhile, Dana Spinant, deputy chief spokeswoman and director for political communication for the European Commission, thanked "those who pointed out the inaccuracy regarding the figures in a previous version of this video."

"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," she said.