31,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000, not whatever Putin and his deceitful circle are lying about. However, each of these losses represents a great sacrifice for us.”
Ukraine is currently experiencing a variety of setbacks in its mission to oust Russia after a counter-offensive failed to make headway before winter, with opposition forces now entrenched along the 1,000-kilometre front line. Last week, it was announced that troops had withdrawn from the key eastern town of Avdiivka, one of Moscow's biggest victories in months.
Zelensky also needs to find about 500,000 new recruits this year, but has so far stopped short of conscription and warned that Ukraine has reached the most difficult stage to maintain unity, which is crucial to the war effort.
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“Now is the most difficult moment for our unity, and if we all collapse from the outside, God forbid, from the inside, this will be the weakest moment. That has not happened yet,” he said.
Although Ukraine mobilized some civilians to fight, the first wave of troops at the start of the war in 2022 was overwhelmingly made up of volunteers. However, the average age of the country's soldiers is now 43, and most have not had a break from combat since the start of the war two years ago.
Russia has provided few official casualty figures, with the latest data from the Russian Defense Ministry, published in January 2023, indicating just over 6,000 deaths, although a US intelligence report was declassified in December The first of last year, it was estimated that 315,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in Ukraine. If this number is accurate, it would represent 87% of the approximately 360,000 Russian forces before the war, according to the report.
An independent Russian news outlet mediazona He said Saturday that about 75,000 Russian men had died in 2022 and 2023 while fighting in the war.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umarov also spoke at the event, stressing that about 50% of Western arms shipments to Ukraine did not arrive on time. Zelensky had previously said that this was one of the reasons why the anticipated counterattack had not begun earlier.
Zelensky also noted that plans for a long-awaited counterattack in Kiev last year had been leaked to Russia early, without providing any further details on how the information was transmitted.
“Our action plans for the counteroffensive were on the Kremlin’s table before the counteroffensive began,” Zelensky said, adding that his military commanders were preparing “several plans” for this year’s battlefield strategy “due to the information leak.”
Western leaders traveled to Kiev at the weekend to show solidarity with Ukraine, as the country marked two years since the large-scale Russian invasion, with both Italy and Canada announcing security agreements with Ukraine in a boost to support so the country can join NATO.
With Reuters
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