Zelensky for Putin’s speech: Imagine 14,000 corpses in Moscow stadium

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded today with his own message to yesterday’s appearance of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a stadium in Moscow.

His remarks came a day after Putin praised the “special military operation” in Ukraine, calling it a “heroic” mission by the Russian military during a patriotic rally at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium in front of an enthusiastic crowd of tens of thousands of Russians.

The 100,000 in front of the stadium, along with the 95,000 in the arena itself, correspond to about the number of Russian soldiers who have invaded Ukraine, Zelensky said in a recorded message today.

“And now imagine 14,000 corpses at this stage, in addition to the tens of thousands who have been injured and maimed,” he said, summing up Ukrainian estimates of Russian casualties since the war began. The German Agency points out that it is not possible to confirm this information independently.

Zelensky once again called for an immediate end to the conflict. “The war must end, Ukraine’s proposals are on the table,” he was quoted as saying by the newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The head of humanitarian services in the Ukrainian capital Oleksiy Kuleba said earlier today that at least 50,000 civilians had been evacuated from the conflict areas in the north and northwest of Kiev and that authorities were continuing rescue efforts in the most vulnerable areas.

Adviser to the Ukrainian presidency Oleksiy Arestovich said this morning that new clashes were reported between Russian and Ukrainian forces at Chernobayevka airport near Kherson in southern Ukraine.