Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced tonight that 31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in the two years since Russia invaded his country, and called on the West to continue providing military support.
In a rare acknowledgment of military losses, he said: ‘Not 300,000 or 150,000, or whatever Putin and his lying circles say. But each of these losses is a great loss for us.”
It is believed that both sides minimize 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 the 360,000 soldiers in Putin’s army before the invasion.
In May last year, a Telegram linked to the Wagner Group, a private military company that provided military support to the Russian invading forces, claimed that 22,000 mercenaries had been killed in addition to Russian forces.
Ukraine, meanwhile, is expected to lose 30,000 troops by November 2023, according to analysis of open sources by a civil society group.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) revealed tonight that 31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in the two years since Russia invaded his country
Zelensky also called on Western allies to provide more military aid to Ukraine, saying victory over Russia “depends on the Western world.”
Zelensky also called on Western allies to provide more military aid to Ukraine, saying victory over Russia depended “on the Western world.”
“Whether Ukraine will lose, whether it will be very difficult for us and whether there will be many casualties, depends on you, on our partners, on the Western world.”
He added that he was “confident” that the US would approve a crucial package of military aid, saying at the press conference in Kiev: “There is hope for Congress, and I am sure it will be positive, otherwise I don’t understand. the world we are going to live in.’
The aid package, worth $61 billion, has been blocked due to resistance from Republicans.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Democrats in Congress were preparing to push through a vote after Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not be pressured to pass the bill, despite it having already passed the Senate had been accepted.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian troops were forced to withdraw from the frontline city of Avdiivka
Zelensky blamed the counter-offensive on an alleged leak to Russian forces
Ukraine’s planned counter-offensive made little progress
Ukrainian medical volunteers of the Hospitaliers Battalion leave their medical bus Ukrainian soldiers injured in the critical battle of Avdiivka
Much of the hesitation stems from the little progress Ukraine has made over the past year, as the planned counter-offensive has led to little progress.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian troops were forced to withdraw from the frontline city of Avdiivka, giving Russia its first territorial gains in almost a year.
Zelensky blamed the failure of the counter-offensive on an alleged leak to Russian forces, but provided no evidence to support this claim.
“Our counter-offensive action plans were on the Kremlin’s agenda before the counter-offensive actions began,” Zelensky said, adding that his military leaders were preparing “several plans” for this year’s battlefield strategy “due to information leaks.”
When asked if he would be willing to talk to Putin, Zelensky replied:
‘Can you talk to a deaf person? Can you talk to a man who kills his opponents?’
Putin’s main opponent Alexei Navalny died this month in an Arctic prison.
“He sees himself coming to power in 2030, we would like to be done with him sooner,” Zelensky added, mocking Russia’s upcoming presidential elections that are likely to extend Putin’s long rule until 2030.