He was speaking at a press conference in Kiev to mark the second anniversary of the Russian invasion.
Kiev, Ukraine:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine’s victory “depends” on Western support and that he was “certain” that the United States would approve a major military aid package.
He also said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the two-year war with Russia, a rare acknowledgment of military losses.
“Whether Ukraine will fail, whether it will be very difficult for us, whether there will be massive casualties, depends on you, our partners, the Western world,” Zelensky said.
He spoke at a news conference in Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion, which comes as Ukraine is weakened by ammunition shortages and Congress blocking U.S. aid.
“There is hope in Congress and I believe it will be positive, otherwise I cannot understand the world we will start to live in,” Zelensky said.
The aid package was blocked due to Republican resistance.
For the first time, Zelensky tallied Ukraine’s military losses in two years of brutal fighting with Russia, saying “31,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in this war.”
“Not 300,000 or 150,000 or whatever[Russian President Vladimir]Putin and his circle of lies say. But every one of these losses is a huge loss for us,” he added road.
Both sides are believed to be trying to minimize troop deaths.
Asked if he was 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 rival Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison this month.
“He thinks he will be in power in 2030 and we hope to end his rule sooner,” Zelensky added, mocking the upcoming Russian presidential election that could extend Putin’s long rule until 2030.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
