Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday his country's victory over Russia “depends” on Western support and said he was “sure” the US would agree to the currently blocked military aid package.
“Whether Ukraine will lose, whether it will be very difficult for us and whether we will have a large number of victims depends on you, our allies, the Western world,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Kiev to mark the second anniversary of the Beginning of the Russian invasion.
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“If we are strong and have weapons, we will not lose this war,” he added.
Zelensky expressed optimism about the passage of a new $60 billion (299 billion reais) US aid package, which is currently being blocked by Republican representatives in Congress in Washington.
“I am sure that (the vote in Congress) will be positive, otherwise I will not understand the world in which we will live,” Zelensky said.
During the press conference, the president also said that Russia knew about Ukraine's counteroffensive plans last year before the operation began.
“The action plans for our counteroffensive were on the Kremlin table before the start of the counteroffensive,” Zelensky said, adding that military commanders were preparing “several strategic plans” for this year “due to information leaks.”
The Ukrainian president also reported that 31,000 of the country's soldiers had died in the war against Russia, providing the first official tally of military casualties in Kiev.
“31,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000 or whatever (claims Russian President Vladimir Putin and his circle of liars). But each of these losses is a big loss for us,” he added.
Ukraine and Russia have consistently refused to disclose military casualty records.
When asked if he would talk to Putin, Zelensky replied: “Can you talk to a deaf person? It is possible to talk to a man who kills his opponents,” referring to the death last week of Alexei Navalny, the main opponent, in the Russian president’s prison.
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© Agence France Press