Zelensky claims that between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in invasion

By nradmin

April 17, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a press conference during a visit by the Presidents of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in 1280 of April 2022.| Photo: Sergey Dolzhenko/EFE/EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that since the beginning of the war there have been between 2,500 and 3,000 soldiers dead in its ranks and about thousand wounded. Of those injured, Zelensky said in an interview with CNN, it is difficult to say how many will survive. The number of soldiers killed among the invaders estimated by the Ukrainians is 20 thousand, but the Russian side recognized only 1.350 soldiers killed in combat.

Civilian deaths during the war, according to Zelensky, they are more difficult to estimate due to the situation in some areas of the country where there are cities blocked by the Russian invaders. “It is difficult to estimate civilian deaths, especially where there are besieged cities like Kherson or Mariupol. We don’t know exactly how many people died in the blocked areas,” he said. Mariupol municipal authorities estimated that up to 10 one thousand civilians could have been killed in that city.

To CNN, Zelensky expressed his fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin would resort to the use of nuclear or chemical weapons because, according to him, “the lives of people in Ukraine have no value” for the Russian. “Not just me, but every country in the world should be worried. He can use chemical weapons, people’s lives are worthless to him. We shouldn’t think that we have to be afraid, but that we have to be prepared. But it is not just a question of Ukraine, but of the whole world”, said the Ukrainian president.

In a video, Zelensky talks about rebuilding the country

On Friday, Zelensky had highlighted on video the “significant” successes against the Russian army, while admitting a “very difficult” situation in the south and in the east, and announced a campaign to seed the entire country and the restoration of some railway lines. “The successes of our Armed Forces on the battlefield are truly significant. Historically significant. But they are still not enough to clear our lands of the occupiers. Mission number one is to accelerate peace,” Zelensky said.

The president insisted that the war provoked by the Russian invasion in 13 February will not end until Ukraine receives more weapons and financial support to defend itself. “They [os militares ucranianos] are stopping the attacks by the occupiers. They are making counterattacks. They have already overloaded Russian conventional aviation so much, in the true sense of the word, that they are obliged to use strategic long-range planes”, said the representative.

However, Zelensky admitted that in the south and east of the country “the situation is still very difficult” and that one cannot speak of recovery. . In the occupied districts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhya provinces, the Russian army “continues to terrorize civilians”, he denounced. The president added that “the cruelty with which Russian troops try to conquer the regions of Azov, Donbas, Kharkiv, only eliminates the slightest possibility that these territories and these people, at least at some point in the future, will have ties” with Russia. .

The official informed that, on Friday , met with all senior military commanders, the Minister of the Interior and the head of his delegation in negotiations with Russia, among others, to talk about the city of Mariupol, besieged by the invaders: “We are doing everything possible to save the our people”, he commented. “The situation in Mariupol is difficult and the fight continues. The Russian army is constantly engaging additional units to invade the city, and for the time being active battles are taking place near the Illich factory and in the Mariupol harbor area. But the Russians cannot completely capture this city,” Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk told Ukrinform news agency. Zelensky also said he had spoken with ministers about how to resolve urgent economic problems that arose during the martial law imposed after the Russian invasion. According to the president, 80% of all Ukrainian companies have already returned to work in a safe area, mainly heavy industry companies, and that transport networks are being rebuilt. “Whatever happens, in all cities and in all communities where there is no presence of squatters and hostilities, it is necessary to restore the economy to the maximum”, he analyzed. The president announced that the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported that the planting campaign has already started and continues in all regions, including Lugansk and Donetsk. He also announced that the restoration of roads and railways has begun.