Putin's Spox Admits Russia Suffered 'Significant Losses' In Ukraine War

KEY POINTS

Peskov called the losses among Russian troops a 'huge tragedy'
The Kremlin spokesman said Russia is withdrawing from Chernihiv and Kyiv in 'goodwill'
He also denied that the Russian military committed atrocities in the city of Bucha

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted in an interview published Thursday that Russia has suffered massive losses in its invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in an interview with Sky News, Peskov made a rare acknowledgment of the challenges that Russia has faced in the war, including the number of deaths among Russian troops.

"We have significant losses of troops," Peskov told Sky News host Mark Austin. "It's a huge tragedy for us."

Russia has not been forthcoming about its troops’ casualties. In late March, a senior NATO military official said the alliance estimated that Russia has lost between 7,000 and 15,000 soldiers in four weeks of the war. Six Russian major generals have also reportedly been killed in the war.

In contrast, Russia on March 25 said that only 1,351 of its soldiers have died in the fighting in Ukraine, according to RFE/RL.

The interview comes as Russian troops occupying Chernihiv and Kyiv have retreated after being unable to seize Ukraine’s capital. During the interview, Peskov claimed they were withdrawing from the regions in “goodwill,” adding that Russia is ready to go forward with negotiations.

“It was a goodwill act to lift tension from those regions and show Russia is really ready to create comfortable conditions to continue negotiations,” the Kremlin spokesperson said.

Peskov also dismissed verified photos and videos of dead civilians on the streets of the Ukrainian city of Bucha as “fakes and lies.” He also maintained that the situation was a “well-staged insinuation” despite numerous accounts from the loved ones of Bucha killing victims detailing the murder of their family member at the hands of Russian soldiers.

“We deny the Russian military can have something in common with these atrocities and that dead bodies were shown on the streets of Bucha,” he added.

On Thursday, German news magazine Der Spiegel also revealed that the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) intercepted radio messages between Russian troops where they were discussing the killing of civilians in Bucha. One of the soldiers allegedly discussed shooting someone off a bicycle. Another intercepted conversation recorded a man saying they shoot soldiers dead after interrogating them.