By Kathleen Magramo From CNN Staff At least 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the war with Russia, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, in a rare admission of his country’s losses. Zelensky disputed Russian claims of much higher numbers when it comes to Ukrainian casualties. The Ukrainian president also said tens of thousands of civilians in occupied parts of the country have been killed. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers. Ukraine’s battlefield losses are a closely guarded secret, but US officials estimate some 70,000 soldiers have been killed — and nearly twice that number wounded. In his speech on Sunday, Zelensky reiterated his hope that the US would pass a bill through Congress to provide the nation with more funding. He rejected comments from Republican US Sen. J.D. Vance that more US funding would not change the outcome of the war, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that “millions will be killed” if the US does not send aid. Here are the latest developments in the conflict: From CNN’s Angus Watson in Sydney Australia on Monday imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Russian prison officers it accuses of mistreating Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny at the Siberian penal colony where he died earlier this month. The Kremlin has denied having anything to do with Navalny’s death. Australia has hit Russian individuals with multiple rounds of “Magnitsky-style” human rights sanctions since December 2022, when it first applied penalties to Russians accused of poisoning Navalny in 2020. The United States and European Union enacted fresh sanctions against Russia last week in response to Navalny’s death and Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. From CNN’s Ivana Kottasova, Andy Carey and Madalena Araujo in Kyiv Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that “millions will be killed” in the war against Russia if US lawmakers don’t approve President Joe Biden’s request for $60 billion of military aid to the country. Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about a statement made by Republican US Sen. J.D. 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.” What Vance said: Earlier this month, Vance argued that the Senate-passed plan for Ukraine “is not going to fundamentally change the reality on the battlefield.” He said the US doesn’t have the manufacturing capacity to pump out sufficient ammunition for Ukraine and still address its own needs. Instead, he called for a negotiated peace with Russia to end the war and complained there was no clear endgame for US policy. More background: Ukraine has for months warned that it is running out of armaments. Zelensky said at a news conference earlier Sunday — just one day after the second anniversary of the war — that he was still hopeful more US funding might soon be approved. US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, is under increasing pressure to bring the Senate bill up for a vote. He has so far resisted calls to do so, at risk of a likely revolt from members of his own party. From CNN’s Antoinette Radford US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a warning Sunday about the need to supply more aid to Ukraine and vowed not to “abandon” the European ally. Speaking after returning from a trip to Ukraine, Schumer said this year is a “crucial moment in the history of the world,” adding that a Ukrainian loss to Russia would also be “devastating in consequences for the US.” Key areas of need: The Senate leader addressed some key areas where Ukraine needed more supplies, including artillery shells, more weapons to disrupt Russian supply networks, and more anti-aircraft weaponry. Schumer provided a few examples of ways that Ukraine is struggling to wage its war, including that he met a Ukrainian drone operator who was able to identify Russian artillery, but no longer had the ammunition to destroy it. Schumer also said Russian forces could fire their artillery much longer than Ukrainian artillery could fire back. Remember: US House Speaker Mike Johnson is under increasing pressure to bring Ukraine aid up for a vote, after Schumer and the Senate passed a package that would provide over $60 billion in assistance. He has so far resisted calls to do so, however, at risk of a likely revolt from members of his own party. From CNN’s Svitlana Vlasova in Kyiv Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Russia could attempt a new offensive as early as late May or early summer. “They will prepare, and we will prepare for their fight,” he said Sunday at a news conference in Kyiv. His comments come as the president reiterates his nation’s need for more weaponry to continue the fight against Russia. Half of all military aid pledged to Ukraine arrives late, the country’s defense minister said at a conference in Kyiv on Sunday, as concern grows about Ukraine’s dwindling stockpiles of ammunition. Zelensky added that the coming months would be difficult for his country because there’s political uncertainty in the US. The Ukrainian leader said earlier Sunday that the country is enduring its “most difficult moment,” but that he still has faith at home and abroad. From CNN’s Stephanie Halasz Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the war with Russia, in a rare admission of his country’s losses. Zelensky disputed Russian statements of much higher numbers when it comes to Ukrainian casualties. The Ukrainian president also said tens of thousands of civilians in occupied parts of the country have been killed. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers. Ukraine’s battlefield losses are a closely guarded secret, but US officials estimate some 70,000 soldiers have been killed — and nearly twice that number wounded. Some context: Throughout the conflict, Kyiv has been hesitant to admit how many soldiers have been killed. Former Ukrense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in June 2022 that he believed tens of thousands of Ukrainians had been killed since February of that year. But two months later, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, then the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, said 9,000 troops had been killed. Russia, meanwhile, has lost a staggering 87% of the active-duty ground troops it had before the invasion, a source familiar with a declassified US intelligence assessment provided to Congress told CNN in December.
Russia’s war in Ukraine
