The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressed the human cost of the war, ongoing negotiations and Europe’s stance toward Russia during an interview with French public TV channel France 2 on Wednesday.
Visibly emotional, Zelensky shared figures that are rarely made public regarding the number of casualties.
“In Ukraine, officially, on the battlefield, the number of soldiers killed — whether career soldiers or mobilised — is 55,000. [Added to this is] a large number of people whom Ukraine considers to be missing,” he said.
That figure is disputed by several independent research centres, which estimate that the actual number of Ukrainian soldiers killed is significantly higher.
According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, the estimate ranges between 100,000 and 140,000 killed since the start of the war in 2022.
As new trilateral talks are being held in Abu Dhabi, Zelensky denounced what he described as a pressure strategy by Moscow.
According to him, Russia “wants to inflict more suffering on Ukrainians so that they accept what our American friends call a ‘compromise’.” But, he added, “this is in reality an ultimatum from the Kremlin.”
‘If we lose this war, we lose our independence’
These remarks come amid renewed Russian strikes. On Wednesday, two people were killed in a drone attack in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region.
The previous day, Russia had already targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as temperatures in some areas dropped close to -20°C.
On the diplomatic front, the Ukrainian president stressed the existential stakes of the conflict. “If we lose this war, we will quite simply lose our country’s independence,” he said.
Asked about the role of Western allies, Zelensky spoke about his relationship with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We are good friends… He called me to tell me that he was thinking about resuming dialogue with the Russians. He knows what I think. Putin’s interest is to humiliate Europe. But it is very important that Emmanuel works to bring peace. It will be beneficial for the whole world if there is no more war in Ukraine.”
Putin ‘is afraid of Trump’, but ‘not of Europeans’
The Ukrainian president also shared his assessment of the balance of power between Moscow and Western countries.
If Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not afraid of Europeans,” Zelensky argued, it is because “Europeans lived in a wonderful, secure world that they built themselves.”
“Europe is very democratic… That is precisely why Ukraine is choosing the path towards Europe,” he said, referring to Kyiv’s ambition to join the European Union by 2027.
In contrast, Zelensky believes the Kremlin “is afraid of Trump,” arguing that the US president has “means of pressure through the economy, through sanctions, through weapons.”
On Tuesday, Donald Trump had called on Vladimir Putin to “end the war,” following the massive strikes on Kyiv these past few days.
Finally, Zelensky stressed that the war in Ukraine has consequences beyond his country’s borders.
“Ukraine’s neighbouring countries understand that they will be Putin’s next victims, that Russia will advance,” he warned.
“Those in Europe who have understood this are helping Ukraine very effectively… We are all fighting to defend the European way of life.”
The European Union on Wednesday opened the door to the purchase of additional British-made weapons for Ukraine, as part of a €90 billion loan that 24 EU member states want to make available to Kyiv.
The bloc’s 27 countries have agreed to allow certain non-EU states, such as the United Kingdom, to take part in the scheme in exchange for a financial contribution.
