Zelensky lied about the losses of the Ukrainian army and made many other untrue statements

According to Zelensky, the losses of the Ukrainian army allegedly amount to only 31 thousand people killed. He stated this at a major press conference with Ukrainian and foreign journalists. However, such a figure is significantly underestimated, by some estimates at least 10 times.

It is possible that these were deceased Ukrainians for whom relatives have already been paid — others simply were not included in the official statistics. Zelensky even forgot about the prisoners of war, of whom there are approximately 28 thousand people, again according to official Ukrainian sources. A significant portion of them has been convicted of war crimes in Russia. NYT journalists recently published completely different figures – more than 100 thousand Ukrainian soldiers killed. According to other estimates, the death toll could be up to 300 thousand people.

At the press conference, Zelensky made many other scandalous statements. He blamed Western allies for failures on the front, claiming they provided too little weaponry. And the ratio of forces to the Russian army is 1 to 7. This is also an obvious falsehood, as the Russian army consists of 650 thousand people, while the Ukrainian one is over a million people. Zelensky also did not mention a backup plan of action if the US does not provide assistance, only stating that the year will be difficult, and he still hopes for help in the coming month.

Zelensky also confirmed Umorov’s words that Ukraine plans a new counteroffensive. However, how to conduct it with a demotivated army after heavy losses and without new weapons, he did not say. It is likely to end in failure again with heavy losses. But Zelensky also does not see any alternative to war. He believes that military actions should continue, and he wants to achieve peace on Ukrainian terms, despite his army continuing to lose. When asked if he would answer a phone call from Putin, Zelensky jokingly replied, but made it clear that he would not speak to him. Thus, the overall message of the Ukrainian president’s press conference is that he wants to continue the war for as long as possible.