Russia Controls 20% Of Ukraine, Zelensky Says, As UN Civilian Death Toll Surpasses 4,000

Topline

Russian troops now control about 20% of Ukrainian territory, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told Luxembourg’s Parliament on Thursday, and the country’s civilian death toll has surpassed 4,000, according to estimates from the United Nations—with authorities expecting a much higher actual death toll—as the country approaches its 100th day of war.

An elderly woman walks next to a building damaged by an overnight missile strike in Sloviansk, … [+] Ukraine on June 1.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Key Facts

Russia occupies almost 125,000 square kilometers (48,262 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, Zelensky said in his address, adding its army has “destroyed almost the entire” eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas.

He said at least “tens of thousands” of Ukrainians have been killed after more than three months of war.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Wednesday a total of 4,149 Ukrainian civilians had been killed, with almost 5,000 injured in the war, though it noted actual figures are likely much higher.

Zelensky claimed Russia has lost more than 30,000 soldiers in the war, while NATO and the United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry have estimated Russian troop losses of at least 15,000.

Zelensky’s speech came the same day Good Morning America aired an interview with Zelensky’s wife, Olena Zelenska, who said more than 200 children have been killed as a result of Russia’s invasion and urged Americans to not “get used to our pain.”

Crucial Quote

“You just can’t concede … parts of your territory. It’s like conceding a freedom,” Zelenska said in the interview with Good Morning America.

What We Don’t Know

Accurate civilian and troop death tolls in Russia and Ukraine. Russia has not shared any updates on army deaths since its Defense Ministry estimated its losses at 1,351 soldiers at the end of March.

Big Number

6.5 million. That’s how many people have fled Ukraine since the war began on February 24, according to the UN.

Tangent

Zelenska told Good Morning America she has not seen her husband since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. The two “said goodbye to one another on the very first day,” and have spoken by phone since, she said, adding she was “proud” the world has been able to see Zelensky’s “true identity.” They have been married for almost 20 years.

Key Background

Zelensky’s remarks come as battles continue to rage on in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, where Russian forces have made significant advances. Fighting also continues in Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv in the east and in the city of Mykolaiv in the south, Zelensky said Thursday, adding “constant fighting” stretches along an entire front line of more than one thousand kilometers. Ukraine has had to deploy minimally trained volunteers from the Territorial Defense Force to fill holes in the frontline, according to the New York Times. Zelensky this week described the battle in the Donbas region as “indescribably difficult.” After more than three months of war, more than 8 million people in Ukraine have been internally displaced, according to the UN. Local authorities have estimated a death toll of at least 10,000 in the city of Mariupol, and Ukraine’s Prosecutor General has started to investigate thousands of potential war crimes cases.