Ukraine 9 000 Of Its Soldiers Have Been Killed Since The War In Russia Began

At a veterans event, Ukraine’s army chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said many of Ukraine’s children should be taken care of because “their father went to the front line and, perhaps, he is one of those almost 9,000 heroes who died.” . In Nikopoli, across from Ukraine’s main nuclear power plant, Russian shelling wounded four people on Monday, an official said. The city on the Dnieper River has faced a relentless pounding since July 12 that has damaged 850 buildings and displaced around half its population of 100,000. “I feel hatred for the Russians,” said 74-year-old Liudmyla Shyshkina, standing at the edge of her damaged fourth-floor apartment in Nikopoli that no longer has walls. She is still traumatized by the August 10 blast that killed her 81-year-old husband, Anatoly. “The Second World War did not take my father, but the Russian war,” noted Pavlo Shyshkin, his son. The UN says 5,587 civilians have been killed and 7,890 injured in the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, although the estimate is likely to be higher. The UN children’s agency said on Monday that at least 972 children from Ukraine have been killed or injured by Russia’s invasion. UNICEF executive director Kathryn Russell said these are figures that have been verified by the UN, but “we believe the number is much higher.” US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Britain, France and Germany called on Sunday for Russia to end military operations so close to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest – but Nikopoli has come under fire three times during night by rockets and mortar shells. Homes, a kindergarten, a bus station and shops were hit, authorities said. There are widespread fears that continued shelling and fighting in the region could lead to a nuclear disaster. Russia called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the situation. Vladimir Rogov, an official of the administration of the occupied Zaporizhia region, which is based in Russia, said on Monday that because of the bombing, the staff at the nuclear plant has been cut, leaving only skeleton staff to keep it operating. Monday’s announcement of the range of Ukrainian military casualties contradicts estimates from the Russian military, which last updated on March 25 when it said 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed in the first month of fighting. US military officials estimated two weeks ago that Russia has lost between 70,000 and 80,000 soldiers killed and wounded in the fighting. On Monday, however, Moscow turned its attention to a specific civilian death. Russia has blamed Ukrainian spy services for a weekend car bomb attack on the outskirts of Moscow that killed the daughter of a far-right Russian nationalist who strongly supports the invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main successor to the KGB, said on Monday that the assassination was “prepared and carried out by Ukrainian special services”. He charged that the bombing that killed 29-year-old TV commentator Darya Dugina, whose father, political theorist Alexander Dugin, is often referred to as “Putin’s mastermind”, was carried out by a Ukrainian citizen who fled Russia for Estonia soon after. Ukrainian officials have categorically denied any involvement in the car bombing. Estonian officials say Russia did not ask them to look for the alleged bomber or even talk to them about the bombing. On the front line, the Ukrainian military said it struck a key bridge over the Dnieper River in the Russian-held Kherson region. Local officials based in Russia said the attack killed two people on Monday and wounded 16 others. Photos on social media showed thick smoke billowing over the Antonivskiy Bridge, an important supply route for the Russian military in Kherson. In the Russian-held Crimean peninsula, anxiety is spreading after a spate of fires and explosions at Russian facilities in the past two weeks. The Russian-backed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, ordered signs showing the location of bomb shelters in the city, which had long appeared untouched. Razvozhaev told Telegram that the city is well protected, but “it’s better to know where the shelters are.” Sevastopol, the Crimean port that is home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, has seen a series of drone attacks. A drone exploded at the fleet’s headquarters on July 31, and another was shot down above it last week. Authorities said air defense systems have also shot down other drones. On Monday night, residents of Sevastopol reported hearing loud explosions on social media. Razvozhaev said the air defense system shot down “an object… at a high altitude, which is why the sound was heard in different parts of the cities.” “The preliminary (conclusion) is that it is, again, a drone,” he wrote on Telegram. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not directly mention the war during a speech Monday on National Flag Day, but repeated some of the justifications given for the invasion. “We are firm in pursuing on the international stage only those policies that meet the fundamental interests of the motherland,” Putin said. He argues that Russia sent troops into Ukraine to protect its people from the encroaching West.

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