Ukraine war: Embattled Zelenskyy asserts Russia kills hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers daily

Apprising of the casualties inflicted in the course of the three-month-long Ukraine war, embattled President Zelenskyy, during his nightly address on Tuesday, stated that the conflict cost the lives of a plethora of Ukrainian troops, leaving more than 500 injured on a daily basis. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Zelenskyy confirmed the alarming figures during an interview with Newsmax television on May 31. He said that condition is extremely critical in the southern Donetsk and Luhansk region. "The situation is very difficult. We are losing 60-100 soldiers per day as killed in action and something around 500 people as wounded in action," he said.

Furthermore, Zelenskyy maintained that the Ukrainian armed forces were holding defensive perimeters in the eastern region of the country. He said the situation in the Donbass remains “extremely difficult”. According to Zelenskyy, Russia has positioned its army’s “maximum combat power” there. Meanwhile, Sievierodonetsk mayor, Oleksandr Struik, said that Putin's forces have seized half of the Sievierodonetsk region. Notably, the eastern Ukrainian city is key for Russian forces to announce a complete capture of the industrial Donbass region.

Russia ready for negotiations, avers Upper House Speaker

Earlier on Tuesday, Moscow's upper parliament house speaker said Russia is ready to hold negotiations with Kyiv to restore peace in the region. The major development came as Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, who was on an official visit to Mozambique, met Maputo's President Filipe Nyusi on Tuesday. While speaking at the meeting, TASS, reported that the speaker said the Putin administration is open to talks with Ukraine and signing agreements that would lead to peace.

She said that the Russian government is ready to solve the issue diplomatically and added a will for this is needed on both sides. However, she claimed that the Zelenskyy administration has shown no interest in resolving the issue. "We are open for talks. I totally share your position that diplomatic, peaceful solutions are needed. But will for that is needed on both sides. We reiterate that we are ready for talks, for signing agreements that would stop the civil war in Ukraine and lead to peace, but we see no reaction from Kyiv," the news agency quoted the upper house speaker as saying. 

Image: AP