Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Sunday that approximately 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia began the invasion two years ago. It was the first time that he acknowledged the military losses in the country. “Each person is a very big loss for us. 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in this war,” the president said. “It is very painful for us.”
He added,
Not 300,000 or 150,000, or whatever (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his lying circle are saying,
Acknowledging the wider losses, he said thousands of civilians died in Ukrainian areas occupied by Russia. He said,
I don’t know how many of them died, how many were killed, how many were murdered, tortured, how many were deported.
Zelensky said that Ukraine’s victory depends on the support of Western countries, and he was sure that the US would provide Ukraine with military aid.
He said,
Whether Ukraine will lose, whether it will be very difficult for us, and whether there will be a large number of casualties depends on you, on our partners, on the Western world.
During a press conference in Kyiv, Zelensky acknowledged the military losses for the first time. Currently, the country is in a weaker position because of the shortage of weaponry. The US aid was also banned by Congress amid opposition from Republicans.
Zelensky said,
There is hope for Congress, and I am sure that it is going to be positive, otherwise I do not understand the world we will start to live in.
He was asked if he would talk to Russian President Putin. In response to that, he said,
Can you talk to a deaf person? Can you talk to a man who kills his opponents?
Further, talking about the Russian losses, Zelensky said that 180,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and thousands injured.
