INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday his country's victory "depends" on Western support and that he was "sure" the United
States would approve a critical package of military aid.He also said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in two years of war with
Russia, in a rare admission of military losses."Whether Ukraine will lose, whether it will be very difficult for us and whether there will
be a large number of casualties depends on you, on our partners, on the Western world," Zelensky said.He spoke at a press conference in Kyiv
dedicated to the second anniversary of Russia's invasion at a time when Ukraine has been weakened by a shortage of ammunition and the
Ukraine's military losses in two years of brutal fighting with Russia, saying "31,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in this war.""Not 300,000 or
150,000, or whatever [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his lying circle are saying
But each of these losses is a great loss for us," he added.Both sides are believed to minimize deaths of troops.Asked if he would talk to
Putin, Zelensky said:"Can you talk to a deaf person? Can you talk to a man who kills his opponents?"Putin's main opponent Alexei Navalny
died in an Arctic prison this month."He sees himself (in power) by 2030, we would like to finish with him sooner," Zelensky added, mocking
an upcoming presidential election in Russia that is likely to extend Putin's long rule until 2030.
