Zelensky Warns ‘Millions Will Be Killed’ Without U.S aid
Millions” could die in Ukraine’s war with Russia if U.S. lawmakers don’t approve President Joe Biden’s $60 billion (FJ$135.79b) aid request for Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN on Sunday.
Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about a claim made by U.S. Senator JD Vance that the outcome of the war would not change even if Ukraine receives the money, Zelensky said he wasn’t sure Vance “understands what is going on here”.
“To understand it is to come to the front line to see what’s going on, to speak with the people, then to go to civilians to understand … what will (happen to) them without this support. And he will understand that millions … will be killed. It’s a fact,” Zelensky said.
“Of course he doesn’t understand, God bless you don’t have the war on your territory,” he added.
Zelensky’s warning came just hours after the Ukrainian leader made a rare admission of troop losses, saying that about 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed so far in the conflict, during a conference in Kyiv.
Addressing the conference, Zelensky disputed Russian claims of much higher numbers when it comes to Ukrainian casualties.
He added that “tens of thousands” of civilians have died in Ukrainian
territory occupied by Russian forces.
“It’s a big loss to us. 31,000 Ukrainians, Ukrainian soldiers, died in this war. Not 300,000. Not 150,000, whatever (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is lying with,” Zelensky said.
“Every loss is a huge loss to us.” CNN cannot independently verify the numbers, which come on the weekend Ukraine marked two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Throughout the conflict, Kyiv has been hesitant to admit how many
soldiers have been killed.
Former Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in June 2022 that he believed tens of thousands of Ukrainians had been killed since February of that year.