Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago, giving the first official figure for more than a year.

Zelensky told a news conference in Kyiv that he could not disclose the number of wounded because it would help Russian military planning.

“31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000 ... (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is lying there ... But nevertheless, this is a big loss for us.”

Ukraine has not put a number to its military losses since the end of 2022, when presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the invasion on February 24.

Russia does not disclose military losses, which it regards as secret.

Frontline visit

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and defence minister Rustem Umerov visited command posts near the front line to analyse the battlefield and boost defences, the top general said on Sunday.

Kyiv’s military is struggling to stave off Russian forces along the sprawling front line as Moscow’s full-scale invasion passes its two-year mark.

“We analysed the current situation in detail and discussed the necessary further steps, primarily the protection of troops from drones and strikes by aerial bombs as well as the strengthening of certain areas of the front,” Syrskyi posted on Telegram along with images of himself and Umerov meeting commanders.

Syrskyi, who did not say when the visit took place, added that “the situation is complex and requires constant monitoring”.

Lanka deadline

Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians staying in Sri Lanka on extended visas because of the war have been asked to leave the island nation within two weeks, officials said.

The immigration controller has issued a notice to the tourism ministry that the Russian and Ukrainian tourists must leave the country within two weeks from February 23 as their visas have lapsed, they said.

However, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office issued a notice that says he has ordered an investigation as to how the decision to ask them to leave had been made without a cabinet decision to revoke the previous extension of stay.

The President’s Media Division said that the Sri Lankan government has not officially decided to revoke the visa extensions previously granted to these tourists.

Russian and Ukrainian tourists had been allowed extended stays in the country because of the war breaking out between the two European countries. Nearly 300,000 Russians and 20,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the war in 2022.