“Due to heavy losses, Russia was forced to withdraw its troops from the area of the capital Kiev.” This was announced by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, specifying that two battalion tactical groups of the Russian army have been deployed to Belarus. According to the headquarters, this is proof that they have suffered “significant losses”.
The Ukrainian army also said that five shellings of Russian troops in Donetsk and Luhansk regions had been repulsed.
“Ukrainian forces continue to deter Russian troops seeking to take control of key roads and settlements near Kyiv in an attempt to break through Ukraine’s defenses from the northwest and east. In Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukrainian forces destroyed two tanks, one infantry vehicle and a car “Russian forces suffered losses,” the Ukrainian army said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force said it had destroyed four planes, one helicopter and two drones.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Mariupol, in the east of the country, is assessed as “catastrophic”, according to AFP. In the city, which has been under siege and bombing for several weeks, “the population is fighting for survival,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed in its Twitter account on Sunday night.
“Russia’s armed forces are turning the city to ashes.” For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the complete blockade of the city, which the Russian military has been trying to capture for several weeks.
“In Mariupol, all entrances and exits from the city are closed, the import of food and medicine is impossible,” he said on Sunday evening. “Russian forces are bombing convoys with humanitarian aid and killing drivers,” he added.