Zelensky Tells UN Russia Lost Nearly 249,000 Troops This Year

Russia lost nearly 249,000 military personnel in the first eight months of 2026 while gaining very little ground, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday. Speaking during the high-level general debate of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Zelensky said Russia managed to capture just over 1,000 square kilometers (roughly 386 square miles) of Ukrainian territory.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “And we have already liberated a significant part of it,” he continued. According to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin had spent about 284 people per kilometer (approximately 736 people per square mile). Zelensky calls Putin ‘patient zero’ During his UN address, Zelensky repeatedly referred to Putin as “patient zero” – the man from whom the war began to spread. “The more freedom Putin has to act, the more dangerous the word becomes for everyone else,” he said according to a live broadcast from Clash Reports. According to him, Putin reiterated to senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – who visited both Moscow and Kyiv early September in an effort to broker an end to the war – that Russia would seize the Donetsk region within a few months. As of July, the Kremlin is seeking to seize all of the Donetsk region while retaining occupied parts of Sumy and Kharkiv regions as permanent buffer zones. That position would mean Moscow is no longer considering returning occupied land in the northeast in exchange for Ukraine ceding the remainder of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Other Topics of Interest 51 Countries Issue Joint UN Statement Urging Russia to Accept Immediate Ceasefire as Sybiha Condemns Latest Strikes The joint statement called for detainees and deported civilians, including children, to be returned and backed freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. However, Ukraine categorically rejects giving up any of its territory as a precondition for a settlement. “This is probably the 17th or 18th time in five years that he has made this promise,” Zelensky said. During this year alone, Russia has used more than 2,100 missiles against Ukraine, including more than 950 ballistic missiles, along with 63,000 attack drones. Sikorski: Russia ‘cannot win’ While Zelensky accused Moscow of abusing its UN veto and threatening Moldova, Poland and the Baltic states, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski framed the escalation as panic. “You have been trying to conquer Donbas for over 12 years, and Kyiv for over four,” Sikorski said, adding that Russia is running out of resources to sustain its war effort. “You have been stopped by heroic Ukraine, a country with one tenth of Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP),” he continued, noting that Poland’s economy is almost half the size of Russia’s, while Europe’s is 10 times larger and NATO’s is 25 times larger. “You cannot win,” Sikorski concluded. His remarks echo repeated warnings from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who previously said Russia was preparing “very seriously for an escalation of tension” in the region, with autumn and winter remaining key. On Sept. 18, he also warned that intelligence assessments point to Russian plans for “hybrid” drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s Western allies, including Poland. Zelensky’s general warning to Russia ahead of winter The winter, which Zelensky said had fought on Russia’s side for centuries, could now work against Moscow as Ukraine is prepared to reciprocate Russia’s strikes on critical infrastructure. “This winter could be very harsh for us, but in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia too,” he said. Additionally, Zelensky urged the representatives of 47 countries – including Ghana, Nepal, Tajikistan, India, Yemen, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Belarus, Sudan and South Africa – to protect their citizens from Russia’s war. “They’re your citizens. Take care of them and do not let them end up on another front,” Zelensky said. “Do not let Putin drag you into this war.” Earlier this month, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said Russia lures foreign nationals into the war with false job offers, coercion and confiscated passports, which amounts to human trafficking, as defined under the UN’s Palermo Protocol. Over the past several months, Ukraine has been intensively preparing for its fifth winter of Russia’s aggression. Kyiv is readying its critical sectors amid widespread expectations that Russia will again target the power grid, heating, and water supplies. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to appeal to partners for Patriots it urgently needs to intercept Russian ballistic missiles. On Sept. 8, Ukraine signed contracts for about 1,000 Patriot missiles, financed through an EU loan. Separately on the same day, Germany pledged to send PAC-2 interceptors from its existing Bundeswehr (Germany military) stocks. US President Donald Trump reiterated his previous decision to grant Ukraine the license to produce Patriot interceptors domestically on Tuesday, though no formal agreement was reached. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.