Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed tonight that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the two years since Russia invaded their nation and called on the West to continue providing military support.
In a rare admission of military losses, he said: “Not 300,000, not 150,000, or whatever Putin and his lying circle say.” But each of these losses is a big loss for us.”
Both sides are believed to downplay the deaths of their own troops and exaggerate the deaths of the other side’s troops. In December, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said 383,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed or wounded.
A declassified US intelligence report shared with Congress claimed that 315,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded as of December 2023, nearly 90% of Putin’s army’s 360,000 soldiers before the invasion.
In May last year, a Telegram affiliated with the Wagner Group, a private military company that provided military support to Russia’s invading forces, claimed that 22,000 mercenaries had been killed along with Russian troops.
Meanwhile, Ukraine was understood to have lost 30,000 troops by November 2023, according to open source analysis by a civic group.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) revealed tonight that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the two years since Russia invaded their nation.
Zelensky also called on Western allies to provide more military aid to Ukraine, saying victory against Russia depends “on the Western world.”
Zelensky also called on Western allies to provide more military aid to Ukraine, saying victory against Russia depends “on the Western world.”
“It depends on you, our partners and the Western world whether Ukraine will lose, whether it will be very difficult for us and whether there will be a large number of victims.”
He added that he was “confident” the United States would pass a critical military aid package, telling the news conference in Kiev: “There is hope for Congress, and I am sure it will be positive; otherwise, I don’t understand the world.” in which we will begin to live.’
The relief package, valued at $61 billion, has been blocked amid resistance from Republicans.
Earlier this week, it was reported that congressional Democrats were preparing to force a vote after Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not be pressured to pass the bill, even though it has already passed the Senate.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian troops were forced to withdraw from the frontline town of Avdiivka.
Zelensky blamed the failure of the counteroffensive on an alleged leak to Russian forces.
Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive resulted in little progress
Ukrainian medical volunteers from the Hospitaller Battalion unload wounded Ukrainian soldiers from their medical bus in the critical battle for Avdiivka
Much of the hesitation is due to the little progress Ukraine has made over the past year, as its planned counteroffensive resulted in little progress.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian troops were forced to withdraw from the frontline town of Avdiivka, giving Russia its first territorial gain in almost a year.
Zelensky attributed the failure of the counteroffensive to an alleged leak to Russian forces, but provided no evidence to support this claim.
“Our counteroffensive action plans were on the Kremlin’s board before counteroffensive actions began,” Zelensky said, adding that his military chiefs were preparing “several plans” for this year’s battlefield strategy “due to the information leaks”.
When asked if he would be willing to talk to Putin, Zelensky said:
‘Can you talk to a deaf person? Can you talk to a man who kills his opponents?
Putin’s main opponent, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison this month.
“He sees himself (in power) by 2030, we would like to end him sooner,” Zelensky added, mocking the upcoming presidential elections in Russia that will likely extend Putin’s long rule until 2030.