Ukraine claims 'speed of the advance' of Russian troops has slowed

The Ukrainian military stated on Monday that Russian soldiers had slowed the 'speed of the advance' against Ukraine and had sustained substantial fatalities in nearly five days of the conflict. The Ukrainian military was reported by the news agency AFP as claiming that "Russian soldiers have halted the tempo of the advance." Ukraine's Interior Ministry previously stated that almost 352 Ukrainian people, including 14 children, were murdered during Russia's incursion.

It was reported that a further 1,684 persons, including 116 children, had been injured. The statement sent by the government on Sunday did not include any information on casualties among Ukraine's military personnel. Russia claimed that its soldiers are exclusively targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and that the civilian population of Ukraine is not in danger. Russia has not given any information on soldier casualties.

On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that only Russian servicemen had been killed or injured but did not provide any figures. In a major escalation of East-West tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of Russian nuclear forces on high alert in reaction to what he called "aggressive declarations" by senior NATO states.

The command on Sunday to boost the readiness of Russia's nuclear weapons for launch fuelled worries that the crisis may devolve into a nuclear conflict, whether on purpose or by accident. Amid rising tensions, Ukraine announced that a team from the nation would meet with Russian officials for discussions. However, the Kremlin's ultimate goals in Ukraine remained unknown, as did what moves may be sufficient to please Moscow. The rapid changes happened as sporadic combat was reported in Kyiv, clashes erupted in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, and Russian soldiers attacked important ports in the country's south.

On Monday, Russia's diplomatic and economic isolation intensified as its forces faced violent opposition in Ukraine's capital and other cities in the worst attack on a European state since World War II. Ukraine has said that no conditions would be put on talks with Moscow at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.

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• Russia
• Russia Ukraine crisis
• Ukraine
• Vladimir Putin
• invasion
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy