Peskov pointed to Trump's underestimation of the number of AFU losses

The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are several times higher than those mentioned by US President-elect Donald Trump. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on December 8.

Earlier in the day, Trump in the social network Truth Social pointed to the "ridiculous loss" of 400,000 troops in Ukraine. Peskov, however, indicated that Moscow had "carefully familiarized" itself with the statement of the future American leader.

"Obviously, [these data] are set out in the Ukrainian interpretation and reflect the official position of Ukraine. The real figures of losses are completely different," he told reporters.

Cathedral proposal: how Trump and Zelensky met at the opening of Notre Dame de Paris

And why Macron was the beneficiary of the talks between the US president-elect and the head of Ukraine

On the same day, the US president-elect said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would like to "make a deal" with Russia. According to him, it is necessary to immediately cease fire and start negotiations, otherwise the Ukrainian conflict may worsen. Commenting on this, Peskov noted that the Russian Federation is open to negotiations on Ukraine.

On the same day, The New York Times reported that the meeting between Trump and Zelensky (his presidential term expired in May) at the opening of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris demonstrated Kiev's willingness to make concessions on negotiations. It is specified that Ukraine saw an opportunity to get closer to the future US leader and convey to him its position in the conflict.

The last round of negotiations took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the worsening situation in the region.