President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a press conference in Kyiv on Sunday, the 25th of February, that in the two years since the full-scale Russia invasion some 31 000 Ukrainian soldiers have fallen defending their country, but the president refused to give the number of wounded and missing, citing concerns about disclosing information to the Russians, reports Politico.
This was the first time in two years that Kyiv officially announced the number of dead soldiers.
According to Zelenskyy, Russian forces have lost 500 000 soldiers in the war, including 180 000 deaths. This differs from the US Defence Department’s figure of 315 000 Russian soldiers killed or wounded, announced earlier this month by a senior US Defence Department official.
President Zelenskyy called on Ukraine’s allies to speed up aid deliveries, stressing that delays mean loss of time and, consequently, loss of Ukrainian lives.
“If we are strong, if we have weapons, we will not lose this war”,
Zelenskyy was quoted as saying, stressing that Putin’s steps would have a significant impact on Russian society.
Meanwhile, Russian officials and state-controlled media have avoided public discussion of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in order to avoid highlighting Russia’s failure to achieve its stated objectives in Ukraine, which has resulted in significant loss of life, Kyiv Independent reported, citing reports from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
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