Zelensky claims 31,000 troops killed but half of all Western aid delayed
Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that there have been 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed as the war against Russia enters its third year.
At a news conference in Kyiv on Sunday, Mr Zelensky confirmed for the first time the number of Ukrainian troops that have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the war-torn country in February 2022.
The Ukrainian president declined to give the number of wounded as he said that would help Russian military planning.
Mr Zelensky said that he was providing updated death toll figures following inflated numbers pushed out by the Kremlin, adding: “31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in this war. Not 300,000 or 150,000, or whatever Putin and his lying circle are saying. But each of these losses is a great loss for us.”
In contrast, US officials had put Ukrainian losses at 70,000 with as many as 120,000 injured. In February, the UK Ministry of Defence estimated that over 350,000 Russian troops had been killed or injured.
Amid fears over supplies to Ukraine, Mr Zelensky went on to say that half of western military aid to the country has reportedly been delayed.
It comes after Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustam Umerov, said in a televised address on Sunday that “commitment does not constitute delivery” and that the lack of supplies meant Ukraine were being further disadvantaged “in the mathematics of war”.
Mr Umerov added: “We do everything possible and impossible but without timely supply it harms us”.
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said he supports plans to send Ukraine hundreds of billions of pounds from frozen Russian assets, writing in The Sunday Times that he wants the UK to be “bolder” with its military support and provide Ukraine with “more long-range weapons, more drones, and more munitions”.
What aid has been sent?
The UK has given almost £12bn in aid packages to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, just over £7bn of which has been donated for military assistance.
Rishi Sunak also said he supports plans to send Ukraine hundreds of billions of pounds from frozen Russian assets, with the Prime Minister writing in The Sunday Times that he wants the UK to be “bolder” with its military support and provide Ukraine with “more long-range weapons, more drones, and more munitions”.
About $75bn (£59bn) in assistance has also reportedly been sent by the United States in the same two year span, while the EU has sent a combined sum of around $88bn (£69bn) in total aid including military, financial and humanitarian assistance.
Several other world leaders recently pledged new aid deals to Ukraine at a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion on Saturday, where Mr Zelensky promised they would “keep on fighting” and “never end”.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau signed a bilateral security pact pledging $3.02bn Canadian dollars (£1.7bn) in financial and military support to Ukraine as well as a $75m (£59m) aid package for demining and intelligence gathering.
Italy’s leader, Giorgia Meloni, also signed a 10-year defence pact with Mr Zelensky on Saturday.
What has been delayed?
The European Union (EU) said in January that just over half of the promised one million artillery shells would be delivered to Ukraine by March as planned, blaming a lack of production capacity, with the full amount not expected to arrive there until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, a new US aid package which includes $60bn (£48bn) funding is reportedly stalled in Congress over concerns that Russia may still be able to win the war regardless of western support for Ukraine coming through.
Ukraine’s counter-offensive last year delivered some victories against Vladimir Putin’s forces but largely fell short of expectations, while its military was forced to withdraw from the eastern town of Avdiivka earlier this month in what was Russia’s biggest victory since the fall of the town of Bakhmut in May 2023.
Mr Zelensky said a lack of weapons was one of the reasons the counter-offensive did not start earlier, and blamed the loss of Avdiivka on declining weapons supplies from the west as well.
The Ukrainian president said on Sunday that he had “clear plans” for a new offensive.
