(Reuters) – On Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president mocked Moscow’s assertion that his war against Russia was progressing well. He asked how President Vladimir Putin could approve a plan that would have so many Russians die.

Putin spoke Tuesday and said that Russia will achieve its “noblest” goals and continue “rhythmically, calmly,” what it called a “special operation”.

Moscow stated on March 25 its latest update that 1351 soldiers were killed in combat since the beginning of the campaign. Ukraine believes the true number may be closer to 20,000.

Russia’s so-called “special operation” is apparently going as planned. In a video address Zelenskiy stated that no one understands the process of how this plan can be implemented.

What plan could allow for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from their country in just a few months of war? This plan would be approved by who?

Zelenskiy asked Putin how many Russian soldiers would be accepted. The answer was between tens and thousands of people.

He said that Moscow had lost more troops in 48 days after the war began than during the 10 year Afghan war between 1979 and 1989.

Zelenskiy stated that, while many had mocked the Russians for their inept technology and failures on the field, they were still a formidable opponent.

“We have to realize that not all Russian tanks can be stuck on the ground, and not all enemy troops simply flee the battlefield. Also not all soldiers are conscripts with poor weapons handling skills.” he stated.

This does not mean we need to be scared of them. It means we should not minimize the successes of our troops and our fighters.