February 25, 2024 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that “millions will be killed” in the war against Russia if US lawmakers don’t approve President Joe Biden’s request for $60 billion of military aid to the country.

Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about a claim made by Republican US Sen. J.D. Vance that the outcome of the war would not change even if Ukraine receives the money, Zelensky said he wasn’t sure Vance “understands what is going on here.”

What Vance said: Earlier this month, Vance argued that the Senate-passed plan for Ukraine “is not going to fundamentally change the reality on the battlefield.” He said the US doesn’t have the manufacturing capacity to pump out sufficient ammunition for Ukraine and still address its own needs.

Instead, he called for a negotiated peace with Russia to end the war, and complained there was no clear endgame for US policy.

More background: Ukraine has for months warned that it is running out of armaments. Zelensky said at a news conference earlier Sunday — just one day after the two-year anniversary of the war — that he was still hopeful more US funding might soon be approved.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, is under increasing pressure to bring the Senate bill up for a vote. He has so far resisted calls to do so, at risk of a likely revolt from members of his own party.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Russia could attempt a new offensive as early as late May or early summer.

"They will prepare, and we will prepare for their fight," he said Sunday at a news conference in Kyiv, following two years of war with Russia.

His comments come as the president reiterates his nation's need for more weaponry to continue the fight against Russia. Half of all military aid pledged to Ukraine arrives late, the country's defense minister said at a conference in Kyiv on Sunday, as concern grows about Ukraine's dwindling stockpiles of ammunition.

Zelensky added that the coming months would be difficult for his country because there's political uncertainty in the US. “The US elections will be a turning point,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader said earlier Sunday that the country is enduring its “most difficult moment,” but that he still has faith at home and abroad.

This map shows the current state of the battlefield in Ukraine:

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a dire warning Sunday about the need to supply more aid to Ukraine, and vowed not to "abandon" the European ally.

Speaking after returning from a trip to the war-torn country, Schumer said this year is a "crucial moment in the history of the world," adding that a Ukrainian loss to Russia would also be "devastating in consequences for the US."

Key areas of need: The Senate leader addressed some key areas where Ukraine needed more supplies, detailing that they need more artillery shells, more weapons to disrupt Russian supply networks, and more anti-aircraft weaponry.

Schumer provided a few examples of ways that Ukraine is struggling to wage its war, including that he met a Ukrainian drone operator who was able to identify Russian artillery, but no longer had the ammunition to destroy it.

Schumer also said Russian forces could fire their artillery much longer than Ukrainian artillery could fire back.

Remember: US House Speaker Mike Johnson is under increasing pressure to bring Ukraine aid up for a vote, after Schumer and the Senate passed a package which would provide over $60 billion in assistance. He has so far resisted calls to do so, however, at risk of a likely revolt from members of his own party.

At least 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the war with Russia, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, in a rare admission of his country's losses.

Zelensky disputed Russian claims of much higher numbers when it comes to Ukrainian casualties. The Ukrainian president also said tens of thousands of civilians in occupied parts of the country have been killed. 

CNN cannot independently verify these numbers. Ukraine's battlefield losses are a closely guarded secret, but US officials estimate some 70,000 soldiers have been killed — and nearly twice that number wounded.

Some context: Throughout the conflict, Kyiv has been hesitant to admit how many soldiers have been killed. Former Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in June 2022 that he believed tens of thousands of Ukrainians had been killed since February of that year. But two months later, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, then the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, said 9,000 troops had been killed.

Russia, meanwhile, has lost a staggering 87% of the active-duty ground troops it had prior to the invasion, a source familiar with a declassified US intelligence assessment provided to Congress told CNN in December.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that he has hope for gaining additional military aid from the US.

Zelensky said the US is aware that Ukraine is in need of more air defense systems, and added the money provided for the additional support "will remain in the US companies — with companies who are the manufacturers of this kind of weapons which we need."

Some background: On Saturday, US President Joe Biden urged House Speaker Mike Johnson and members of Congress to return from a two-week break and pass much-needed aid for Ukraine.

The speaker has resisted calls to bring a Senate-passed aid package up for a quick vote — a move that would almost certainly spark a revolt from some members of his own party. While visiting Ukraine last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also called on House Republicans to pass the aid bill.

There is "no alternative" but to win Ukraine's fight against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, as he addressed the nation one day after marking the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

He thanked Ukrainians for their resilience throughout the conflict thus far, and suggested a peace summit in Switzerland could take place in the spring.

“It does not mean that Russia will accept this document,” he said of a possible peace plan proposal.

We will bring you more updates from Zelensky's speech as they become available.

Ukraine's top prosecutor said that 350 war crimes cases are before Ukrainian courts, an unprecedented figure never before achieved during a conflict.

Kostin said his office has identified 512 Russian suspects involved in said crimes. Eighty verdicts have already been handed down.

Kostin added that more than 20 countries have opened investigations into possible Russian crimes against Ukrainian citizens, including the United States.

Last December, four Russian soldiers were charged with war crimes against an American who was living in Ukraine during the Russian invasion, according to a historic indictment unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Virginia.

The case against the Russian soldiers marked the first time the US government has used a decades-old law aimed to prosecute those who commit war crimes against American citizens. 

Pope Francis, commenting during the Angelus Sunday, talked about the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine, saying "I beg that they may rediscover that bit of humanity that might enable the creation of the conditions for a diplomatic solution, in the search for a just and lasting peace.” 

The pope had cancelled audiences on Saturday, but appeared in person on Sunday.

Pope Francis has consistently appealed for an end to the war in Ukraine. As the war approached its one year mark, the pope described it "absurd and cruel" as he called for a ceasefire.

Pope Francis frequently speaks out on issues such as war, migration and climate change, a senior Vatican cardinal said in January, to warn world leaders they are making “suicidal” decisions.

Ukraine Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that half of all military aid pledged to his country arrives late, costing his country dearly on the battlefield.

Speaking at a conference in Kyiv, Umerov blamed the delays on what he called a "dynamic and changing" situation.

Umerov's comments come as Ukraine as support from its allies appears to be faltering. A package of aid from the United States remains stalled in Congress, while the European Union has fallen short on previous commitments to supply Ukraine with more ammunition.

Ukraine is attempting to fill that shortfall by boosting its own defense industries. Speaking at the same conference, Ukraine Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said the country's defense industry tripled its production capacity last year.

Kamyshin noted, however, that Ukraine needs a lot more ammunition than it can manufacture on its own.