The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield as a result of the country’s war with Russia is estimated at 55,000, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told France 2 TV on Wednesday.

“In Ukraine, officially the number of soldiers killed on the battlefield – either professionals or those conscripted – is 55,000,” said Zelenskiy, in a pre-recorded interview that was broadcast on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Zelenskiy, whose comments were translated into French, added that on top of that casualty figure was a “large number of people” considered officially missing.

Zelenskiy had previously cited a figure for Ukrainian war dead in an interview with the U.S. television network NBC in February 2025, saying that more than 46,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed on the battlefield.

The U.S. military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the U.S. military said, in an incident first reported by Reuters.

The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, and U.S. President Donald Trump warned that with U.S. warships heading toward Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.

Oil futures prices rose more than $1 per barrel after news the drone was shot down.

The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier “with unclear intent” and was shot down by an F-35 U.S. fighter jet, the U.S. military said.

“An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the U.S. military’s Central Command.

Iran’s U.N. mission declined to comment.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency said connection had been lost with a drone in international waters, but the reason was unknown.

No American service members were harmed during the incident and no U.S. equipment was damaged, he added.

The Lincoln carrier strike group is the most visible part of a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.

Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was “seriously talking,” while Tehran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said arrangements for negotiations were under way.

In a separate incident on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after the drone shootdown, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed merchant vessel, according to the U.S. military.

“Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Hawkins said.

Maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Iranian boats ordered the tanker to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the tanker sped up and continued its voyage.

Hawkins said a U.S. Navy warship, the McFaul, was operating in the area and escorted the Stena Imperative, Reuters reported.

“The situation de-escalated as a result, and the U.S.-flagged tanker is proceeding safely,” Hawkins added.

The top U.S. and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity, Reuters reported.

The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between U.S. General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.

The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defences in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran’s leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the U.S. were to attack it, read the report.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Sunday met with Zamir after his talks in Washington, Katz’s office said, to review the situation in the region and the Israeli military’s “operational readiness for any possible scenario.”