This is an analytical difficulty that US/NATO voices fear to parse. The key variable here is the longstanding incapacity of Ukraine to extract its wounded from the forward edge of the battle area [FEBA] in time to save their lives. Thus, there is for Ukraine, an unacknowledged descent into ancient casualty results. Whereas in Modernity, the KIA-to-WIA ratio might be 4:1 — or in the 'golden hour' dispensation of Americans in Iraq, 16:1 — for Ukrainian troopers their prospects, frankly, are worse than those of World War I, or even the American Civil War. Hence, I would expect, when it all comes out, that there are something like a million Ukrainian wounded. Many crippled, many amputees. Ukrainian amputees are already greater in number than what the German Empire suffered in World War I!
Dr. Vlahos is absolutely correct about the urgent need for a permanent peace agreement; a ceasefire will not be sufficient. Russia has alway made clear what are its security objectives (no NATO membership for Ukraine and a pan-European security agreement). However, the US War Party has always hidden its prime objective to weaken Russia with moral rhetoric designed to manipulate and control American public opinion. The question is how do we break free of the assumptions and beliefs imposed by such elites which have resulted in so much death and destruction?
Dear Luca, I was being deliberately conservative. Personally I feel that your higher total, tragically, is probably closer to the true number. I have 'irrecoverable' casualties at ~1.2 million, you have it a couple hundred thousand higher. Our 'invalid' wounded figures are the same: 420k. However, you put KIA considerably higher, and ~1 million. This is very distressing, and almost certainly true.
This is an analytical difficulty that US/NATO voices fear to parse. The key variable here is the longstanding incapacity of Ukraine to extract its wounded from the forward edge of the battle area [FEBA] in time to save their lives. Thus, there is for Ukraine, an unacknowledged descent into ancient casualty results. Whereas in Modernity, the KIA-to-WIA ratio might be 4:1 — or in the 'golden hour' dispensation of Americans in Iraq, 16:1 — for Ukrainian troopers their prospects, frankly, are worse than those of World War I, or even the American Civil War. Hence, I would expect, when it all comes out, that there are something like a million Ukrainian wounded. Many crippled, many amputees. Ukrainian amputees are already greater in number than what the German Empire suffered in World War I!
Acoording to NYT article of August 18th, 2023 the most optimistic ratio was 1,71 (120k wounded and 70k dead). A very close ratio was given by Ukrainian Telegram channel Resident on November 5th, 2024 where, commenting the Kursk incursion, they wrote about 30k casualties and they specified that 11k were the dead and 19k wounded. In this case the ratio was about 1,73.
The association of American military surgeons wrote an article about the misuse of tourniquets in Ukraine that were justified only in 25% of the cases.
If we consider the last 8 exchanges of corpses, the Ukrainians received 3547 bodies against 380 Russian ones.
At the beginning of December 2024, again Ukrainian Telegram channel Resident claimed about 420k war invalids.
A couple of humanitarian organizations (including houp) confirmed such numbers.
In July 2023 Hanna Malyar wrote that 18% of the wounded became invalids. That percentage of invalids grew to 30% in September 2024 according to Anatoliy Kazmirchuk, Commander of the Medical Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, due to the use of more powerful bombs by the Russian aviation like the FAB-1500 and FAB-3000.
A roughly average gives the % of invalids at 25.
420k invalids equals to about 1,68 millions of total wounded.
1,68 millions of total wounded divided by a ratio of about 1,72 wounded to killed brings the number of Ukrainians dead soldiers at around a million.
A count of obituaries (like Mediazona does for the other side) kept by Slavyangrad stands at 559k Ukrainians dead soldiers. WarTears, an Ukrainian site and Telegram Channel, places it’s latest estimate at 663k Ukrainians dead soldiers.
If, like Mediazona does, we consider the numbers found as lower than the real numbers, we easily reach the million mark explained above.
By collecting in the last 3 years the equivalent of 4 or 5 pages of A4 of OSINT “evidence” from Ukrainian and Western sources, I was able to gather what I wrote here.
Wow! I’ve not read any of your work before - v impressive! I’m assuming you must have been exiled from the Empire narrative complex…….. Cherish the truth tellers, I say. 👏
What may help change the narrative would be to release to the public the negotiations before the war, three days of zoom calls between Biden and Putin.
Though reported on at the time, they seem to have been memory-holed, likely because they complicate the "unprovoked" framing. Putin wanted to fly over for face-to-face meetings but was refused. Politico did a large piece on it at the time, saying how Biden spent his time in between talks lining up what were to be "crippling" sanctions with European leaders. But all I can find of the story now is a short, empty white house statement about "the importance of negotiations" but a refusal to hear any talk of invasions.
Surely the public would be interested in hearing what was said? History deserves to know.
The war against Russia is historic by Europe going back over 700 yrs .
Russians have always defeated those ideas and wars .
Getting to present war which could have been avoided 2 yrs back which Zelenskyy was going to sign peace treaty with Russia in Istanbul.
Boris the nato puppet and promised money + weapons and got Zelenskyy to fight nato proxy war.
Though no fan of Putin , o agree with him as to how NATO has broken Minsk agreement made after breakup of ussr . And Ukraine was red line which Putin had warned.
NATO under estimated Russia’s capacity of resilience. Ukrainians paid the price with million dead / incapacitated.
Trump is trying for peace but the Europeans are more interested in persuing the war . I believe they might even do a red flag event to damage the peace process.
1. Russia was never under threat, it has nukes for fuck sake.
2. Therefore, the invasion, which Russia started, after it supported militarily a treasonous revolution in Donbass, was done to take territory. Simple as that.
3. Ok dead in war. I will not attempt to know the exact numbers. But what we do know.
- Slavyangrad is not an Ukrainian publication
- russia is on the attack for most of the war and even just by Oryx, has suffered ridiculous casualties (and no, its not as if Ukraine is hiding its own, it never had as much as Russia and its equipment losses are high, by Oryx)
- if Ukraine lost 2 million+ to death, amputation and injury, there would be no men to press gang. Decide what attack line u want to use. I have friends in Ukraine of military age who are just fine and not press ganged. Such a stupid line
- on the fact that Ukraine is losing. If a country, which btw is 4 not 6x smaller in population, lost so many men, Russia wouldnt be struggling to take Pokrovsk 3 years into the war.
So decide. Either Ukraine is doing solidly (not perfectly) to defend against a bigger country. Or Russia is incompetent as they cant take depopulated villages against s depopulated land.
How the war is going it is reflected in a couple of interesting Ukrainian statistics:
Last year, without reckoning military losses, the population decreased by 800k (excess deaths and negative migration balance).
Last year, deaths were almost 3 times more than newborns.
In short it is like a brakeless train headed towards the abyss.
The synergistic action of attrition warfare destroys the Ukrainian armed forces, neutralizes the threat and at the same time destroys the economy (given that the vast majority of the armed forced of Ukraine is made from mobilized people a.k.a. economic manpower) and ultimately the statehood of Ukraine. Budanov's closed-door warning (Leaked already in September 2024, on Rezident channel, by the way) is much closer to reality than people think. Trump and the US administration know it very well, that is the reason to push for a hurried peace agreement.
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam by Russian forces was not just a humanitarian and ecological disaster—it was a calculated crime against civilians. New findings by Kyiv Independent journalists @kyivindependent_official provide further evidence pointing to deliberate Russian involvement. As entire communities were flooded, the full scope of this act is coming to light.
The claim that Ukraine’s population was 52 million in 1994 aligns with historical data.
The assertion that the population decreased to approximately 33 million by 2022 is inconsistent with available data. According to MacroTrends, Ukraine’s population in 2022 was approximately 39.7 million. 
The claim suggests a further reduction due to migration and territorial changes. Worldometer estimates Ukraine’s mid-2025 population at around 38.9 million, indicating a decline but not as severe as stated.
The statement mentions a pre-war fertility rate among the lowest in Europe, further declining during the war. While Ukraine’s fertility rate has been low, specific figures during the war are not readily available. However, conflicts typically exacerbate such demographic challenges.
The claim of approximately 330,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the first 18 months, with intensified losses leading to a total of around 920,000 irrecoverable losses, is significantly higher than reported figures. As of January 2025, estimates indicate approximately 400,000 Ukrainian military casualties (killed or injured), with 35,000 missing.
While Ukraine has experienced population decline, low fertility rates, and substantial military casualties, the figures presented in the statement appear to be exaggerated compared to available data.
Ukraine has not had an official census since 2001; with that in mind, whatever figures you may have come across are just guesstimates. In 2019, Ukraine conducted an “electronic” census, which found that the population of Ukraine, excluding Crimea, LPR and DPR to be 37.3M. You can think of that as a ceiling. Given out-migration and population decreases due to natural causes (e.g., COVID-19), the population under Kiev’s control on the eve of the war was considerably less than 37M. Certainly, the 33M figure is not unrealistic, and is in line with other estimates Ive seen, which are even lower. See the Jamestown foundation report which estimated an even lower number of 31m.
For the last 3 years we have been talking the truth about the war in Ukraine Most of us knows that it was USA NATO EU who started the war in 2014 And they since 1991 has expanded NATO. The only purpose for NATO was to protect Europe against Sovejtunion Then they collapsed in 1990 there was no longer any justification for NATO. It should have been dissolved together with the Warsaw Pact. But instead the expanded like crazy and started illegal wars outside their jurisdiction Both on Balkan and in the Middle East and now in Ukraine NATO is not a defense alliance but an illegal terror organization and USAs biggest customer for their weapon industry It’s all about money 💰 Politicians in USA EU and UK are still lying 🤥 24/7 and say Ukraine fight for freedom and democracy and their fight are our fight. And if Russia win they will attack Europe and NATO countries so they have to support Ukraine with money and weapons Trump can’t make a peace agreement that Russia will accept Why should they? They have won the war. There is only one thing for USA to do. That’s to withdraw from Ukraine stop all financing and weapon support and withdraw all US personal and weapons from all NATO bases in Europe Remove all sanctions against Russia and start cooperate with them Then let EU do what they want in Ukraine EU don’t have an army no weapons no personal and no money So if they continue their stupid fake proxy war against Russia without USA they will collapse and go bankrupt
Ukraine is not involved in the organization of the terrorist attack in Crocus, - Russian Investigative Committee
In honor of the anniversary of the terrorist attack, the Investigative Committee revealed details of the case, without confirming Putin's key version of the "Ukrainian trace." Investigators said that the terrorists were recruited by ISIS.
This is an analytical difficulty that US/NATO voices fear to parse. The key variable here is the longstanding incapacity of Ukraine to extract its wounded from the forward edge of the battle area [FEBA] in time to save their lives. Thus, there is for Ukraine, an unacknowledged descent into ancient casualty results. Whereas in Modernity, the KIA-to-WIA ratio might be 4:1 — or in the 'golden hour' dispensation of Americans in Iraq, 16:1 — for Ukrainian troopers their prospects, frankly, are worse than those of World War I, or even the American Civil War. Hence, I would expect, when it all comes out, that there are something like a million Ukrainian wounded. Many crippled, many amputees. Ukrainian amputees are already greater in number than what the German Empire suffered in World War I!
Thanks James! I will read Mettan's book. I have also highlighted this overarching issue, a decade past, here:
https://www.theglobalist.com/putins-and-russias-quest-for-identity-and-belonging/
Thank you for sharing this gem. Incredible that this was written in 2015.
Dr. Vlahos is absolutely correct about the urgent need for a permanent peace agreement; a ceasefire will not be sufficient. Russia has alway made clear what are its security objectives (no NATO membership for Ukraine and a pan-European security agreement). However, the US War Party has always hidden its prime objective to weaken Russia with moral rhetoric designed to manipulate and control American public opinion. The question is how do we break free of the assumptions and beliefs imposed by such elites which have resulted in so much death and destruction?
Thank you so much for reading, and for your penetrating comment!
Dear Luca, I was being deliberately conservative. Personally I feel that your higher total, tragically, is probably closer to the true number. I have 'irrecoverable' casualties at ~1.2 million, you have it a couple hundred thousand higher. Our 'invalid' wounded figures are the same: 420k. However, you put KIA considerably higher, and ~1 million. This is very distressing, and almost certainly true.
This is an analytical difficulty that US/NATO voices fear to parse. The key variable here is the longstanding incapacity of Ukraine to extract its wounded from the forward edge of the battle area [FEBA] in time to save their lives. Thus, there is for Ukraine, an unacknowledged descent into ancient casualty results. Whereas in Modernity, the KIA-to-WIA ratio might be 4:1 — or in the 'golden hour' dispensation of Americans in Iraq, 16:1 — for Ukrainian troopers their prospects, frankly, are worse than those of World War I, or even the American Civil War. Hence, I would expect, when it all comes out, that there are something like a million Ukrainian wounded. Many crippled, many amputees. Ukrainian amputees are already greater in number than what the German Empire suffered in World War I!
Let me add a few informations here:
About the wounded to killed ratio.
Acoording to NYT article of August 18th, 2023 the most optimistic ratio was 1,71 (120k wounded and 70k dead). A very close ratio was given by Ukrainian Telegram channel Resident on November 5th, 2024 where, commenting the Kursk incursion, they wrote about 30k casualties and they specified that 11k were the dead and 19k wounded. In this case the ratio was about 1,73.
The association of American military surgeons wrote an article about the misuse of tourniquets in Ukraine that were justified only in 25% of the cases.
If we consider the last 8 exchanges of corpses, the Ukrainians received 3547 bodies against 380 Russian ones.
At the beginning of December 2024, again Ukrainian Telegram channel Resident claimed about 420k war invalids.
A couple of humanitarian organizations (including houp) confirmed such numbers.
In July 2023 Hanna Malyar wrote that 18% of the wounded became invalids. That percentage of invalids grew to 30% in September 2024 according to Anatoliy Kazmirchuk, Commander of the Medical Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, due to the use of more powerful bombs by the Russian aviation like the FAB-1500 and FAB-3000.
A roughly average gives the % of invalids at 25.
420k invalids equals to about 1,68 millions of total wounded.
1,68 millions of total wounded divided by a ratio of about 1,72 wounded to killed brings the number of Ukrainians dead soldiers at around a million.
A count of obituaries (like Mediazona does for the other side) kept by Slavyangrad stands at 559k Ukrainians dead soldiers. WarTears, an Ukrainian site and Telegram Channel, places it’s latest estimate at 663k Ukrainians dead soldiers.
If, like Mediazona does, we consider the numbers found as lower than the real numbers, we easily reach the million mark explained above.
By collecting in the last 3 years the equivalent of 4 or 5 pages of A4 of OSINT “evidence” from Ukrainian and Western sources, I was able to gather what I wrote here.
Excellent analysis and insight. It’s a shame that truth is the casualty when narrative rules.
Thank you for reading!
Wow! I’ve not read any of your work before - v impressive! I’m assuming you must have been exiled from the Empire narrative complex…….. Cherish the truth tellers, I say. 👏
What may help change the narrative would be to release to the public the negotiations before the war, three days of zoom calls between Biden and Putin.
Though reported on at the time, they seem to have been memory-holed, likely because they complicate the "unprovoked" framing. Putin wanted to fly over for face-to-face meetings but was refused. Politico did a large piece on it at the time, saying how Biden spent his time in between talks lining up what were to be "crippling" sanctions with European leaders. But all I can find of the story now is a short, empty white house statement about "the importance of negotiations" but a refusal to hear any talk of invasions.
Surely the public would be interested in hearing what was said? History deserves to know.
A terrific point — I could not agree more!
Excellent indeed.
Posted about it on X yesterday:
https://x.com/ingolfeide/status/1877903845881524677?s=46&t=rkrvYEs4rPHnskyeeLxSjg
Thank you so much for reading, and commenting!
My pleasure.
The war against Russia is historic by Europe going back over 700 yrs .
Russians have always defeated those ideas and wars .
Getting to present war which could have been avoided 2 yrs back which Zelenskyy was going to sign peace treaty with Russia in Istanbul.
Boris the nato puppet and promised money + weapons and got Zelenskyy to fight nato proxy war.
Though no fan of Putin , o agree with him as to how NATO has broken Minsk agreement made after breakup of ussr . And Ukraine was red line which Putin had warned.
NATO under estimated Russia’s capacity of resilience. Ukrainians paid the price with million dead / incapacitated.
Trump is trying for peace but the Europeans are more interested in persuing the war . I believe they might even do a red flag event to damage the peace process.
A false flag is indeed what I’m worried about as well.
This is hilarious.
1. Russia was never under threat, it has nukes for fuck sake.
2. Therefore, the invasion, which Russia started, after it supported militarily a treasonous revolution in Donbass, was done to take territory. Simple as that.
3. Ok dead in war. I will not attempt to know the exact numbers. But what we do know.
- Slavyangrad is not an Ukrainian publication
- russia is on the attack for most of the war and even just by Oryx, has suffered ridiculous casualties (and no, its not as if Ukraine is hiding its own, it never had as much as Russia and its equipment losses are high, by Oryx)
- if Ukraine lost 2 million+ to death, amputation and injury, there would be no men to press gang. Decide what attack line u want to use. I have friends in Ukraine of military age who are just fine and not press ganged. Such a stupid line
- on the fact that Ukraine is losing. If a country, which btw is 4 not 6x smaller in population, lost so many men, Russia wouldnt be struggling to take Pokrovsk 3 years into the war.
So decide. Either Ukraine is doing solidly (not perfectly) to defend against a bigger country. Or Russia is incompetent as they cant take depopulated villages against s depopulated land.
What moronism
How the war is going it is reflected in a couple of interesting Ukrainian statistics:
Last year, without reckoning military losses, the population decreased by 800k (excess deaths and negative migration balance).
Last year, deaths were almost 3 times more than newborns.
In short it is like a brakeless train headed towards the abyss.
The synergistic action of attrition warfare destroys the Ukrainian armed forces, neutralizes the threat and at the same time destroys the economy (given that the vast majority of the armed forced of Ukraine is made from mobilized people a.k.a. economic manpower) and ultimately the statehood of Ukraine. Budanov's closed-door warning (Leaked already in September 2024, on Rezident channel, by the way) is much closer to reality than people think. Trump and the US administration know it very well, that is the reason to push for a hurried peace agreement.
The main problem with achieving peace in Ukraine is that Russians still want to kill Ukrainians as they steal Ukrainian land.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/03/26/do-you-speak-ruscism-seven-phrases-that-explain-why-russia-cant-stop-invading/
As for losses, it's best not to put too much faith in the Kremlin figures. Too much vranyo there.
https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russia-has-failed-break-ukraine
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgkm7lly61do
Leaked phone call between Russian soldiers.
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam by Russian forces was not just a humanitarian and ecological disaster—it was a calculated crime against civilians. New findings by Kyiv Independent journalists @kyivindependent_official provide further evidence pointing to deliberate Russian involvement. As entire communities were flooded, the full scope of this act is coming to light.
https://www.threads.net/@united24.media/post/DHgSL_CNxLT?xmt=AQGzCSBEgoWt7oNoMbhiyRaKvE_pO3k2cmr9vWVnRL9KTw
The claim that Ukraine’s population was 52 million in 1994 aligns with historical data.
The assertion that the population decreased to approximately 33 million by 2022 is inconsistent with available data. According to MacroTrends, Ukraine’s population in 2022 was approximately 39.7 million. 
The claim suggests a further reduction due to migration and territorial changes. Worldometer estimates Ukraine’s mid-2025 population at around 38.9 million, indicating a decline but not as severe as stated.
The statement mentions a pre-war fertility rate among the lowest in Europe, further declining during the war. While Ukraine’s fertility rate has been low, specific figures during the war are not readily available. However, conflicts typically exacerbate such demographic challenges.
The claim of approximately 330,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the first 18 months, with intensified losses leading to a total of around 920,000 irrecoverable losses, is significantly higher than reported figures. As of January 2025, estimates indicate approximately 400,000 Ukrainian military casualties (killed or injured), with 35,000 missing.
While Ukraine has experienced population decline, low fertility rates, and substantial military casualties, the figures presented in the statement appear to be exaggerated compared to available data.
Ukraine has not had an official census since 2001; with that in mind, whatever figures you may have come across are just guesstimates. In 2019, Ukraine conducted an “electronic” census, which found that the population of Ukraine, excluding Crimea, LPR and DPR to be 37.3M. You can think of that as a ceiling. Given out-migration and population decreases due to natural causes (e.g., COVID-19), the population under Kiev’s control on the eve of the war was considerably less than 37M. Certainly, the 33M figure is not unrealistic, and is in line with other estimates Ive seen, which are even lower. See the Jamestown foundation report which estimated an even lower number of 31m.
https://jamestown.org/program/ukraines-personnel-needs-reaching-a-critical-threshold/
For the last 3 years we have been talking the truth about the war in Ukraine Most of us knows that it was USA NATO EU who started the war in 2014 And they since 1991 has expanded NATO. The only purpose for NATO was to protect Europe against Sovejtunion Then they collapsed in 1990 there was no longer any justification for NATO. It should have been dissolved together with the Warsaw Pact. But instead the expanded like crazy and started illegal wars outside their jurisdiction Both on Balkan and in the Middle East and now in Ukraine NATO is not a defense alliance but an illegal terror organization and USAs biggest customer for their weapon industry It’s all about money 💰 Politicians in USA EU and UK are still lying 🤥 24/7 and say Ukraine fight for freedom and democracy and their fight are our fight. And if Russia win they will attack Europe and NATO countries so they have to support Ukraine with money and weapons Trump can’t make a peace agreement that Russia will accept Why should they? They have won the war. There is only one thing for USA to do. That’s to withdraw from Ukraine stop all financing and weapon support and withdraw all US personal and weapons from all NATO bases in Europe Remove all sanctions against Russia and start cooperate with them Then let EU do what they want in Ukraine EU don’t have an army no weapons no personal and no money So if they continue their stupid fake proxy war against Russia without USA they will collapse and go bankrupt
Ukraine is not involved in the organization of the terrorist attack in Crocus, - Russian Investigative Committee
In honor of the anniversary of the terrorist attack, the Investigative Committee revealed details of the case, without confirming Putin's key version of the "Ukrainian trace." Investigators said that the terrorists were recruited by ISIS.
Wow, so Putin is a liar! How can it be?