In Ukraine, where the war is now in its third year. Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, remaining defiant in telling the world that there is no option but to win the fight against Russia. In a rare admission, Zelenskyy said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the war began. Cnn cannot independently verify that figure, but US officials estimate that the death toll could be much higher, closer to 70,000 soldiers. On the front lines, Ukraine's weapons and ammunition are running desperately low, and right now, there doesn't appear to be much hope that more USAID is coming quickly. At a press conference earlier in Kyiv, CNN's Kaitlyn Collins asked Zelenz Let's give out that.

It has been two years now, obviously, since this war started, but for the first time since Russia invaded, USAID to Ukraine is seriously in doubt that a total standstill in Congress Congress.

Do you still have faith in the US Congress?

Well, I do have hopes for the Congress. I'm sure there will be a positive decision because otherwise, it will leave me wondering what world we are living in. Because of that, we do count on Congress support. We do know we need the support with a month. I met leader of both parties in different formats. The President, those at power, those in oppositions know it. They know that our request has been to get this assistance in a month. They know that. As regards aerial defenses, they do know we need more. If we speak We'll think about that today. But well, anyway, most of the money will be left in the US with companies producing the types of weapons we need. Let us not It's not about that. This is not about toys regarding the Congress, the war in Ukraine. There are certain steps like security guarantees with some very specific, concrete things. There is a very serious, specific, concrete things about money. We do see the challenges in the US, but we do count on the US remaining at the lead of the democracy worldwide.

All right, we've got full coverage of today's developments. Let's get started with Kaitlyn Collins. Kaitlyn, after that press conference, you had a one-on-one with President Zelenskyy. What did he say?

Yeah, we went further into that conversation about USAID because there are so many conversations here at this moment that they had, of course, marking two years since Russia invaded Ukraine. Obviously, a lot of different dynamics at play when it comes to the mobilization of the draft here, what their next tactic is on the battlefield. Zelenskyy replacing his top general with someone new, a new commander in chief. But really, everything has centered on this conversation about USAID and what is going to happen because Zelenskyy, obviously, has been Washington many times. He has made these appeals to the US Congress. But what we know is the reality on the ground in Washington is that right now it's at a total standstill. That $60 billion that was in the package that was passed by the US Senate has gone nowhere in the House, and the House is on a two-week recess still as of this moment. It hasn't shifted at all. Speaker Mike Johnson hasn't made clear what he's going to do with it. We talked about some of the claims that were made by lawmakers here, including one by a US lawmaker, who I should note, voted against this aid package, and this is what Zelenskyy said in response.

Senator J. D. Vance, who was in Munich at the security conference but didn't meet with you, he said that even if you got the $60 billion in aid, it is not going to fundamentally change the reality on the battlefield. What's your response to that?

I'm not sure that he understands what's going on here. We don't need any rhetoric from people who are not deeply in the war. To understand it is to come to the front line to see what's going on, to speak with the people, then to go to civilians, to understand what will be with them, and then what will be with them without this support. He will understand that millions of people have been killed, will be killed.

So he doesn't understand it.

Because he doesn't understand it. Of course, God bless, you don't have the war on your territory.

So that is his response to a senator who is against sending any more aid to Ukraine, Senator Jody Vance, obviously. But one thing that Zelensky has also been contending with is he's been meeting with lawmakers who do support sending more aid to Ukraine. Senator Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, was just here in recent days, Fred. So have been Republicans in the House, like congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, who has introduced his own bill to try to get aid to Ukraine passed. And so Zalinsky says he's relying on those kinds of conversations when he says he does have hope for the US Congress that there will be more USAID. But what he is also making very clear are the implications and what is going to happen on the battlefield if they don't get any more USAID, Fred.

Right. He's making it very clear while he doesn't wish this on anyone, he also seems to understand that unless you're in his shoes or any of the Ukrainian shoes, can you sometimes really understand what they're going through? Well, he is making his please loud and clear in so many ways. Thanks so much, Kaitlyn. Let's talk more about the situation, again, in Ukraine, where we heard in an interview with our Kaitlyn Collins that President Zelenskyy is saying it's imperative to try to get more US aid. Steve Hall is a CNN National Security Analyst and a former CIA Chief of Russia operations. Steve, great to see you. So let's begin with Zelensky's comments, not only making the plea to the Western community, including the US, for more aid. But he's also saying that the losses have been great. Some 30,000 soldiers have been lost, but US officials are claiming that number is much higher, maybe even double, somewhere around 70,000. Either way, it's a significant loss to that country, but they seem to maintain a hopefulness that they actually can win against Russia. What do you think?

You know, all of us have been talking about this, Fred, for the past couple of years, and every Russia watcher that I know has been wildly off about something. So it's really, really hard to predict. You remember at the beginning of this, we were all like, oh, jeez, Moscow is going to overrun Kyiv here in a number of days. And then that didn't happen. It was very embarrassing for the Russians. So this is going to be a long war. It's going to go back and forth, back and forth. But one thing that Zelensky is absolutely right about is if they do not receive the aid, the assistance from the West, and more specifically from the United States, it is going to be either very, very difficult or almost impossible for them to actually protect territorially all of Ukraine. I think that's what has Zelenskyy worried, not to mention at least some Western and US politicians.

Yeah. Putin is watching this, and of course, he's finding he's going to look for moments in which to gain some momentum or take advantage of this public discussion about the deficit that Ukraine is feeling. How is Russia pivoting, changing its strategy on a dime, on a constant, as the world talks about what aid is or isn't going the way of Ukraine?

Well, first of all, this has been a very good couple of weeks for Vladimir Putin. I think we can see that just in his demeanor and what he's done and said. I think Vladimir Putin is now beginning to be able to tell all of those doubters. And by doubters, I don't mean people in the streets who might be protesting. I mean, those around him, his innermost circle who might have said, Jesus, is this really going to work? Initially, he was essentially saying, look, over the long run, if we hold in there, the West and the United States, specifically, will lose focus. They'll lose their nerve. They will stop supporting Ukraine one way or another. Just have patience. Well, now, two years later, he can say, Look, the patience is beginning to pay off. It's up to the West, again, to show him that he's wrong. But I think he's feeling very good about things and will continue along the same path that really he's been continuing since the very beginning.

And Putin has reason to believe he should feel good leading up to elections, which are just coming up in a few weeks. I mean, obviously, he has no challengers, but what is his disposition here?

Again, I think very positive. Our election in name, it's ridiculous in Russia. It's all predetermined. It's just pageantry. That said, it's also politically sensitive because people can't come out in protest and so forth. That said, who's left to come out in protest? Who's going to lead that? Navalny? No, he's dead. All the other oppositionists, serious ones, he has either taken off the chess board by killing them or just marginalized them and managed to penetrate their organizations so they can't be effective. So again, I think he's feeling very, very good about that. And again, he has no problem whatsoever sending hundreds of thousands of young Russian men to their death so that they can win Ukraine. And until Russian society says, We're not going to put up with that, it's looking very good for Vladimir Putin personally, as well as how it's going in Ukraine.

All right, Steve Hall, we'll leave it there. Thanks so much.

Sure.