On the first day of the third year since Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky referred for the first time to the number of his country's soldiers killed in the conflict. The Ukrainian leader admitted this Sunday that the dead on his side amounted to 31,000, without wanting to provide the number of wounded so as not to give clues to Moscow about the troops he maintains on the front. Yes, he has made public the number of casualties that, according to his government, his army has caused to the enemy: 500,000, of which 180,000 would be dead. He has also admitted that Ukraine, on the defensive after its failed counteroffensive and lack of ammunition, is “in the most difficult moment.”
The ratio of deaths for each side offered by the Ukrainian president – five Russian soldiers for each one from Ukraine – is much higher than that reported by the United States last summer, in the midst of kyiv's counteroffensive. There are also discrepancies in the total figures. US officials claimed in August that the number of dead on the Russian side at that time reached 120,000, and between 170,000 and 180,000 wounded. Meanwhile, Ukraine would have lost 70,000 (between 100,000 and 120,000 wounded), that is, the fallen Russian soldiers, despite being much superior to the Ukrainians, were not even twice as many, as published The New York Times.
Ukraine has around 500,000 members in its army, while Russia almost triples that number, with 1.3 million men. Zelensky has not explained how his government has counted his deaths, but it is most likely that they are confirmed deaths in which the body has been recovered. The Kiev Executive Office that is in charge of prisoners of war assured on January 24 that there are “tens of thousands” of soldiers missing, according to its head Yuri Taraniuk.
On February 19, the independent Russian media Midzone, in collaboration with the BBC, gave its own estimate of confirmed Russian deaths in Ukraine, which was 44,654 military personnel. The research to reach that number was based on public sources such as obituaries, comments from relatives on social networks, news published in regional media and information from local authorities. The figure also does not count the tens of thousands of soldiers whose bodies may have been abandoned on the battlefield and who are considered missing.
As for civilian victims, at least 10,582 have died and nearly 20,000 have been injured since the start of the war, according to data made public this Saturday by the United Nations Human Rights monitoring mission in Ukraine.
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The Ukrainian president, visibly tired, offered these data at a press conference after the Ukraine 2024 Forum, an event designed by Kiev to breathe optimism into a society that is beginning to show signs of fatigue with a stagnant front and its army in retreat due to to the lack of ammunition and rotations. Its second largest financial and arms contributor after the EU, the United States, has blocked an aid package of 56 billion euros in the House of Representatives, with a Republican majority in favor of Donald Trump, the party's most likely candidate for the presidency. White House, favorite in the polls and whose position regarding assistance to the Zelensky Government is unknown.
The president has not avoided the difficulties in which his country finds itself. “Now is the most difficult moment for our unity, and if we all fall apart on the outside, and God forbid on the inside, then this will be the weakest moment. It hasn't happened yet,” he said. He has also stressed the critical importance of the coming months. “The third year is a turning point. An election year [en EE UU]blurring, all at once, challenges from outside, from within… I think the way the war ends will depend on this year.”
“It's not a question of money, we need weapons”
Despite the stoppage of financial and military flow from Washington, Zelensky has been optimistic about his arrival, but assured that this should occur within “a month.” “We have to understand that it is not a question of money, we need weapons,” he stated. “We will be weakened on the battlefield [si la ayuda no llega]”. “We have the weapons we have,” he added. “We have no choice but to win. There is no way to lose. And if we are strong in arms, we will win,” he stated.
The president's warnings come at the moment of greatest initiative by the invaders since the start of the war. Russia has regained momentum and is attacking hard on the eastern and southern fronts. After the Ukrainian withdrawal from Adviivka, at the gates of Donetsk, on February 17, the Kremlin forces have advanced even further, occupying the village of Lastochkine, putting pressure on the Kiev army with a large number of infantry and military equipment. The Russians also advanced into Kherson, where fire from tanks, mortars, artillery and drones has been reported throughout the day. Members of his army crossed the Dnieper River, attacking five villages in territory controlled by kyiv, according to the governor of the province, Oleksander Prokudin.
Zelensky has warned that the situation could get even worse. “Russia is preparing a counteroffensive for the beginning of summer or towards the end of May, if it can,” he said, downplaying the invader's operations in recent days. “The assault they began on October 8 has not given them any results,” he continued. He has also assured that Ukraine has a plan to counteract the great advance that Moscow is planning and of which he has refused to provide the details so as not to give clues. “Our counteroffensive actions last fall were in the offices of Moscow before we started,” he said.
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