The Permanent Representative to the UN explained how much time and how many troops Russia needs to occupy Ukraine
During a Security Council meeting, Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, made a strong statement regarding the territorial integrity of our country.
The diplomat emphasized that no demands from the aggressor will force Ukraine to give up its lands or citizens.
“Ukraine rejects any kind of ultimatum. We will never give up a single square millimeter of our land. We will never abandon any of our citizens,” he declared, commenting on the Kremlin’s encroachment on the Donetsk region.
Melnik drew the international community’s attention to the enemy’s colossal losses, noting that Russia is effectively “burning its own population” for the sake of illusory gains.
According to the cited calculations, for every square kilometer of Ukrainian territory captured, Russia pays with the lives of an average of 254 soldiers.
The diplomat compared the current situation to historical events, noting that no army since World War I has paid such a high price.
Even during the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–1940, the casualty rate for comparable territories was roughly a hundred times lower.
Melnik calculated that to fully occupy the Donetsk region, the U.S. president—assuming he followed the Kremlin’s logic—or any other leader would have to sacrifice another 1.5 million soldiers.
This would double Russia’s current losses to a catastrophic figure of over 3 million people.
The diplomat ironically called Putin a “military genius” who is incapable of realizing the impossibility of achieving his goal by military means.
According to him, an attempt to fully occupy Ukraine at the current rate would cost Russia 122 million lives and take about 183 years.
Particular attention was drawn to the fact that human life is worth “less than a penny” to the Russian leadership.
However, Melnik noted that even for the current regime in Russia, such massive losses would become an inevitable point of no return and collapse.
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