Adam Kinzinger celebrates deaths of 400,000 Russians during Ukraine war

On Saturday, former congressman and CNN Senior political commentator Adam Kinzinger celebrated the deaths of 400,000 Russians. 

In a post on X, Kinzinger asked "What’s the difference between Feb 24, 2022, and Feb 24, 2024?" He added, "Answer: 400,000 fewer Russians."

Many X users responded to Kinzinger with disgust for his post. Commentator Melissa Tate said, "Replace 'Russians' with the word 'Jews' & you will see the same evil spirit that operated in Hitler, is operating in people like Adam." She added, "Pure hatred for a people group. It’s evil."

Another user noted, "Those were all real people with families, many of them innocent teenage conscripts."

Actor Matthew Marsden pointed out, "He is celebrating the death of 400000 men who have no say in what their government does, but follow orders. He is a despicable man."

Earlier this week, the Ukrainian military claimed that the Russian military had 407,240 casualties since its initial invasion in 2022. However, former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker, told Newsweek, "Nobody really knows accurate numbers."

While Russia does not keep a running total of how many Ukraine soldiers they have killed, the number of casualties, widely vary based on the source. In August, US officials said that 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 120,000 wounded, while Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Ukraine had sustained 383,000 casualties. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed last June that "Russia suffers 10 times fewer losses than Ukraine." 

The war in Ukraine started on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Since the start of the war US and NATO countries have provided millions of dollars in military assistance to support Ukraine.