Zelenskyy puts Ukrainian war death of over 45,000 – DW – 02/05/2025
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Zelenskyy puts Ukrainian war death of over 45,000 – DW – 02/05/2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that 45,100 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed to defend the country against the Russian invasion since February 2022.

Another 390,000 troops were injured, he said.

What did Zelenskyy say more?

With the situation in the front lines to a large extent on a deadlock that the third anniversary of the beginning of the full -scale war of the war, Zelenskyy has said that he would be willing to hold direct talks with the Russian President Russian Vladimir Putin to end the conflict.

“If it is the only set where we can give peace to the citizens of Ukraine and not lose people, we will definitely go for this set,” he told British media personality Piers Morgan in an interview broadcast on Youtube on Tuesday.

He added that such conversations would need to involve “four participants.”

“If people think we have to move to the diplomatic track, and I think we are ready to move to the diplomatic track, there must be the United States, Europe, Ukraine and Russia,” he said.

Europeans unsure of Trump role in Ukraine

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While Zelenskyy emphasized that Kiev would not recognize Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory, he admitted that Western support had been “unfortunately … insufficient to drive Putin completely out of our territories.”

When asked how he would feel if he sat opposite Putin at a negotiating table, the Ukrainian leader said: “I would not be kind to him, I consider him an enemy. To be honest, I think he considers me as an enemy also.” Putin has excluded to talk directly to Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy estimated Russian injured to over 350,000 dead and up to 700,000 injured or missed since 2022.

The figures could not be verified independently.

What role does US President Donald Trump play?

Tentative conversations about negotiations are not just a result of injured and warfare; It coincides with US President Donald Trump to the White House after promising to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible.

How exactly he intends to do so remains unclear, with his statements so far, ranging from threats to drawing US military support for Ukraine to threats of further financial sanctions against Russia.

In Tuesday’s interview, Zelenskyy emphasized that he did not want to see Russian sanctions being lifted and said he thought this would only “increase the risk of a second invasion” in the future.

Earlier on Tuesday, Zelenskyy told reporters in Kiev that his team was already in contact with Washington’s best Ukraine’s official Keith Kellogg and national security adviser Michael Waltz, and that there was a “work date” for an American delegation to visit.

“Now the dates and members of the delegation are the agreement, and we are waiting for the team,” he said. “We will work together.”

Injury -trained station in Kostynatynivka, Donetsk Region, Ukraine
Ukraine’s mineral -rich eastern Donbas has seen hard fighting during the war with RussiaImage: Madeleine Kelly/Zuma Press Wire/Picture Alliance

Can Ukraine give us access to “rare soils”?

On Monday, Trump demanded access to important strategic minerals in Ukraine in return for continued US military security for Kiev. The idea had first been moved by Zelenskyy last year, who said it would only be “fair” to offer us companies access to rare metals that are important for different techniques.

Although almost 20% of the Ukrainian territory was currently under Russian occupation, Zelenskyy said that Kiev still had access to “sufficient” many rare resources.

“I would like us to develop this area here,” he said according to comments published by his office.

“We are open to the fact that all this can be developed with our partners, both of which help us protect our country and drive the enemy back with their weapons and sanction packages. This is absolutely fair.”

A large part of Ukraine’s mineral resources are found in the eastern Donbas region, much of which is controlled by Russian forces and where Moscow has made step -by -step profits over the past year.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah