Ukraine Soldier Death Toll Now Over 100,000? 'Completely Untrue,' Says Defense Council Secretary

It is "impossible" and "completely untrue" for Ukraine to have suffered 100,000 military casualties in Russia's ongoing invasion, according to Ukrainian officials.

"I declare to you with full responsibility that we do not have 100,000 casualties among the military," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told Interfax-Ukraine in an interview.

Danilov made the statement in response to an article published by Politico Wednesday.

The piece, which cited United States officials, reported that more than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since Russia began its invasion last year.

Among these estimated casualties were supposedly some of Ukraine's most experienced soldiers.

"It's impossible. During the war, this is classified information, but 100,000 is completely untrue," Danilov said.

The exact number of Ukrainian losses is only known to the Ukrainian military and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he added.

Meanwhile, a total of 165,610 Russian personnel have been eliminated in the war, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed in its most recent casualty report released Monday.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, said during an interview with Ukrainian broadcaster Channel 24 late last year that Ukraine had lost between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers up to that point in the conflict.

The Washington Post, citing U.S. and European officials, reported on March 13 that up to 120,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded since the start of Russia's invasion.

In a report published early last month, British newspaper The Telegraph claimed that both sides of the conflict may have sustained more than 120,000 casualties in the war.

However, Danilov alleged that the ratio between Ukrainian and Russian losses was actually around 1 to 7 and, in some cases, up to 1 to 10 in favor of Ukraine.

"In many areas, [Russian] losses were simply insane," the official claimed.

Amid reports of its losses, Russia's forces have made "marginal gains" in and around the besieged city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's partially occupied Donetsk region, American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in a Monday war assessment.

Up to 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the battle for the city, Western officials claimed.

There has also been an "increase in the tempo" of Russian operations around neighboring Avdiivka, according to the ISW.

Avdiivka could become the "second Bakhmut," Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, the spokesman for Ukraine's Tavria military command, said, according to a Reuters report.