The Ukrainian military should focus on inflicting the highest possible casualties on Russia, Vladimir Zelensky has said, naming a figure of 50,000 Russian losses per month as an “optimal level” that troops should target.

Ukrainian forces have for months been losing ground to a large-scale Russian offensive. Neither side has officially reported on its own casualties for some time, although Russian officials said last month that Ukraine had suffered almost 500,000 troop losses in 2025 alone.

Speaking at an event dedicated to an assessment of Ukrainian drone units’ effectiveness, Zelensky said that “when it comes to 50,000 Russian losses per month, this is the optimal level,” calling it “the task of the Ministry of Defense… the task of our army, all… the security forces of Ukraine to guarantee exactly such a level of Russian losses.”

The idea was initially floated by Ukraine’s newly appointed defense minister, Mikhail Fedorov, who called it one of Kiev’s “strategic goals” during his first press conference in his new capacity. A close ally of Zelensky, Fedorov said that the Ukrainian leader himself demanded the military make the cost of continuing the conflict unacceptable for Moscow.

“One needs to set the right goals,” Fedorov told journalists, calling the kill quota one of them. His comments drew condemnation from opposition MP Anna Skorokhod, who said Kiev should prioritize ending the fighting and bringing exhausted troops home.

On Monday, Zelensky claimed Russia had lost some 35,000 soldiers to deaths and injuries in January. Moscow has previously accused the Ukrainian leader of ignoring reality and downplaying Ukraine’s own losses. Earlier this month, the head of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said Kiev was sacrificing troops in a failed defensive effort and falsifying a Ukrainian military presence in locations where there was none.

Russia also accused Kiev of increasingly targeting civilians in its attacks. As many as 45 people, including three minors, were killed in Ukrainian strikes in Russia over the holiday season from January 1 to 11, according to Moscow