Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zeelnskyy revealed today (Sunday) that some 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the Russian invasion began in 2022.
“31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war – not 300,000, not 150,000, not the number that Putin and other liars around him lied about. Each one of the soldiers who fell is a great sacrifice for us,” Zelenskyy said at the Ukraine 2024 forum.
However, he added that he would not reveal the number of soldiers who were wounded or missing in action during the war.
Yesterday, the world marked two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has cost at least half a million lives so far. Many leaders arrived in Kyiv to express their support for Ukraine. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni compared Putin to Hamas, saying “if Putin didn’t invade – Hamas would not have attacked.”
US President Joe Biden announced a package of 500 sanctions against Russia in the wake of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. These include sanctions against defense industries and businessmen tied to Navalny’s imprisonment.
During the visit, Zelenskyy took foreign leaders to see Hostomel Airport – where a brutal battle took place at the start of the Russian invasion, when Russia tried to drop in troops to occupy nearby Kyiv.
As the war enters its third year, Russia controls some 18% of Ukrainian territory and has gathered momentum by taking the town of Avdiivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk oblast. Vladimir Putin is also expected to comfortably win reelection next month, meaning the end of the war is nowhere in sight.