Former US President Donald Trump has accused Ukraine of intentionally covering up the actual death toll in its war with Russia, speculating in a recent podcast published on Tuesday that the death numbers are higher than depicted.

“They lie about the numbers,” Trump claimed in the podcast with Lex Fridman. “They try and keep [the numbers] low. They knock down a building that’s two blocks long, and they say one person was mildly injured. No, no, a lot of people were killed… millions of people,” Trump added.

Varying death toll records

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed earlier this year that the death toll was around 31,000, while Russia and the international community estimate that it could be higher.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has stated that the death toll composed of civilian deaths and unarmed individuals is around 11,520 since the start of the conflict in February 2022 until July 31, 2024. However, the organization claimed that real numbers could be much higher.

Anonymous US officials told The New York Times last month that an estimated 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed throughout the war.

Kiev rarely publishes reports on the official civilian death toll, where accurate numbers are difficult to determine due to the lack of a reliable independent count.

The most recent official figures were released in June 2023, reporting around 10,000 civilian deaths. However, the actual figures are believed to be five times the recorded number, according to Oleg Gavilch, a top aide to Andrey Ermak, Zelensky's chief of staff.

Trump pledges to end war if re-elected

The Republican presidential candidate asserted that “a war that shouldn’t have happened," accusing President Joe Biden of failing to prevent the war while describing that reaching a potential ceasefire “is a much tougher deal to make than it would’ve been before it started.”

Trump reiterated his vow to end the war and "have a deal made" if he is re-elected in November.

Kursk incursion won't halt Russian advance in East Ukraine: Putin

Kiev's incursion into Russia's Kursk region will not impede Moscow's progress in eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

Despite the incursion on August 6, which displaced around 130,000 people and allowed Kiev to maintain control over parts of Kursk, Putin emphasized that the Russian advance in the Donbass continues unabated.

Speaking at an open lesson "Talking about important things", which was held at secondary school No. 20 named after the Heroes of the Fatherland of Kyzyl, Putin said, "The result is clear. Yes, people are going through difficult experiences, especially in the Kursk region. But the main aim that the enemy had -- to stop our offensive in Donbas -- it did not achieve." 

Putin noted that Moscow is seeing progress at a "rate that we did not have for a long time," despite Kiev's efforts to stretch Russian forces and compel a withdrawal from eastern Ukraine.

He added, "We have to, of course, deal with these bandits that entered the territory of the Russian Federation, specifically the Kursk region, attempting to destabilize the situation in the border areas."

Elsewhere in his remarks, President Vladimir Putin stressed that the Russian armed forces are now capturing territory in square kilometers rather than just meters. "Moreover, now we are not talking about moving forward 200-300 meters [656-984 feet] at a time; we have not had such a pace of advance in Donbas for a long time. The Russian armed forces are no longer taking control of territories of 200-300 meters, but of square kilometers," he noted during the session.

Putin also stated that Russia will address the Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region who have attempted to destabilize the border area.

The Russian leader emphasized that Russia is safeguarding both the residents of Donbass and its own future by preventing the establishment of hostile entities near its borders in Ukraine. Putin underscored the importance of protecting Russia from the creation of unfriendly structures close to its territory.