Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that he hopes to submit a peace proposal to Russia this spring. The announcement comes amid a grinding war of attrition which Zelensky claimed has killed 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers; the first updated figure from Kyiv in over a year. U.S. officials estimate that number is closer to 70,000.
Zelensky's remarks came during a conference coinciding with the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel described the conference as a “reboot.” Speaking to his nation on Saturday, Zelensky urged the Ukrainian people to stay strong. Mostly, Engel noted, the mantra from government leaders in Kyiv is that “they need weapons and they need them now,” if they hope to regain the strategic initiative before discussing a negotiated peace.
Zelensky said that without US aid, Ukraine will not only struggle to make any new gains on the battlefield, but it will also find it difficult to keep defending itself this year.
“People will be prepared, but ammunition will not be prepared and brigades will not be ready… not only for our counter-offensive, they will not be ready to defend, to stay strong. It will be very difficult,” he said.
The timing is crucial as Zelensky said earlier on Sunday that Russia could attempt a new offensive as early as late May.
Ukraine's new army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi is currently drawing up two versions of a plan on what to do next, he said. If Kyiv gets the US assistance, it will be able to start pushing back against Russia. If it doesn't, it will have to focus on defending only.
Ukraine started 2024 on a rocky footing. Faced with encirclement, Ukrainian forces fled the destroyed city of Avdiivka. Western officials concluded the city's defenses collapsed because there was not enough ammunition to protect it.
While grappling with the defeat, Zelensky said that he felt more optimistic after speaking with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson about the stalled $60 billion military aid package.
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