PRAGUE -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged countries that back Kyiv in its defense against Russia's invasion to step up sanctions against Moscow, saying the Kremlin doesn't care about massive casualties but could be swayed to end the war if economic pressure is sufficient.
Appearing via video link on the opening day of a June 12-14 international security conference in Prague, Zelenskyy spoke hours after Russian forces again pounded Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, which lies close to the Russian border, in overnight attacks.
His comments at the Globsec conference came as a series of prisoner exchanges continued, with Ukraine and Russia returning wounded and ailing POWs to their home country.
In his Globsec address, Zelenskyy also called on nations to finance increased drone production and take other steps to blunt the onslaught, saying Ukraine is the "first line of defense" against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his forces.
"If this line fails, Putin will go further," he said.
Zelenskyy spoke after opening remarks in which Czech President Petr Pavel emphasized "the importance of standing with Ukraine and standing on our own feet as Europeans" at a time when "the new U.S. administration has unsettled transatlantic relations and forced Europe to face strategic questions it cannot postpone."
"Ukraine continues to fight bravely for its freedom, independence and security of all of Europe," Pavel said.
Heavy Casualties
Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian military has "recorded more than 1 million Russian casualties, killed and wounded," since Putin launched the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
"This is the price Putin and those like him are willing to pay for their sick geopolitical fantasies," he said.
A daily social media post from the Ukrainian military said on June 12 that the number of Russian combat losses had reached 1,000,340. In early April, NATO put the figure at more than 900,000, including some 250,000 dead.
"Russia does not really care about such human losses," Zelenskyy said.
"What they do worry about are harsh sanctions, especially those against Russian oil, including a new price cap -- that's what really threatens them, because it could cut off their funding for war and force them to seek peace," he said.
Earlier this week the European Commission presented new sanctions against Russia to the 27 EU member states, including a lowering of the price cap -- a measure to restrict revenues Russia can earn through oil sales -- on Russian crude to $45 per barrel from the current $60.
EU officials hope the Group of Seven (G7) countries will agree to this at a summit in Alberta, Canada, on June 15-17. Zelenskyy told a press conference on June 12 that he plans to attend the gathering and hopes to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines to press for US support for what he called "very important" sanctions.
Trump, who has been seeking to broker an end to Russia's war on Ukraine since he took office for a second time in January, has voiced frustration with Russia's recalcitrance and its ongoing attacks, many of them killing and wounding civilians, but has refrained from imposing new sanctions.
On June 5, Trump compared Russia and Ukraine to "two young children fighting like crazy" and said he could potentially impose tough punishments "on both countries" if he concludes that they are not going to reach a peace deal.
In a congratulatory message to "the Russian people" on the country's Russia Day holiday on June 12, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States reaffirmed its "desire for constructive engagement with the Russian Federation to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine."
"It is our hope that peace will foster more mutually beneficial relations between our countries," said the statement. It did not lay blame on Russia or Ukraine for the war.
Drone Wars
"There are so far no signs of Russia's intentions to end their aggression," the Czech president said in his Globsec address. "And yet we have witnessed a troubling reluctance to clearly distinguish between the aggressor and the victim.
"It is time we draw the necessary conclusions from the fact that the Unites States' role in European security has changed, and reinforce Europe's ability to respond accordingly," he added.
While "maintaining intense dialogue" with the United States, Pavel said, "we must accelerate our efforts to build credible European defense capabilities, strengthen our defense industries, and take political ownership of our collective security."
Zelenskyy opened his remarks with a reference to Operation Spiderweb, an unprecedented Ukrainian attack on June 1 in which drones were smuggled into Russia on trucks and deployed to strike air bases at close range, destroying or damaging several Russian strategic bombers.
With drones playing an increasingly important role in the war, Zelenskyy said Ukraine "is ready to increase drone production" but needs money to make it happen.
"We have the capacity. What we lack is financing," he said. "We must all be faster on drones than our enemies."
More broadly, he warned, "One principle is clear: No country can afford to stay behind in technological developments."
With Moscow rejecting calls by Kyiv and the West for a cease-fire and the fate of direct peace negotiations unclear after two rounds of talks brought no breakthroughs, Zelenskyy said, "You can't talk Russia into peace."
Russia Again Attacks Kharkiv
A wave of drone attacks targeted several city districts in Kharkiv overnight, damaging residential buildings and a schoolyard where a drone landed and shattering windows, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
At least 15 people were wounded, including children aged 2, 12, 16, and 17, and five of the wounded victims were hospitalized, police said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said it had struck an electronics factory outside Moscow. In a Telegram post, the Armed Forces General Staff said recorded explosions at the Rezonit plant, which it said manufactures electronics widely used in high-tech weapons and equipment production.
The claims could not immediately be verified.
With Russia launching large-scale attacks on Kharkiv, Kyiv, and other cities and showing no sign of readiness for concessions in any putative peace deal, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was in Kyiv on June 12 to show support and discuss further weapons aid.
"The purpose of the trip is mainly to demonstrate...that Germany, that the new federal government, continues to stand by Ukraine in the current situation, which has not become any easier," Pistorius told journalists upon arrival. He said he would speak about more weapons support from Germany and other EU nations.
More POWs Exchanged
The only tangible positive result of the direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, held in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2, has been a series of prisoner swaps that have brought POWs back to their home country.
The sides exchanged an unspecified number of wounded and ill prisoners on June 12, officials said. Neither side revealed numbers.
"Today, warriors of our Armed Forces, National Guard, and Border Guard Service are back home," Zelenskyy wrote on social media. "They all require medical treatment, and they will certainly receive the care they need.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its soldiers were receiving "necessary psychological and medical aid" in Belarus for now and would undergo further treatment when back in Russia.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged several busloads of prisoners of war under the age of 25 on June 9, and the sides exchanged the bodies of soldiers killed in the war on June 11. A total of 1,000 prisoners from both sides were exchanged on May 23-25.
