Russia sustains ‘colossal’ losses in Ukraine, continues Mariupol siege
International Desk, Apr 29 (EFE).- The Russian army has sustained massive losses in its offensive in the east and south of Ukraine, a Ukrainian presidential aide said Friday, while Russian forces continued their assault on the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol, which is almost under Moscow control.
While Oleksiy Arestovych admitted that Ukraine had lost some towns and villages, he claimed Russian casualties had been “colossal”.
Ukraine says 23,000 Russian troops have been “eliminated”, according to Ukrinform.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian forces are acting to ensure absolute control of the pro-Russian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk and to maintain the land route with occupied Crimea.
The Kremlin’s strategy in Ukraine in recent days has been to try to control both regions from neighboring Kharkiv region, which is suffering heavy shelling, especially the capital and the city of Izium.
According to the military report, in the last 24 hours in the Kherson region there have been explosions and shelling.
Russian forces continue their siege of Ukrainian units in Mariupol, around the Azovstal plant, where, according to the authorities, 500 soldiers of the Azov regiment, which is part of the Ukrainian army, and 1,000 civilians are sheltering.
BOMBS RETURN TO KYIV
On Friday, rescue teams located the body of a civilian under the rubble of the building that was struck a day earlier while the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Kyiv, bringing the death toll from that missile strike to one dead and 10 wounded.
“Rescuers, who continue to inspect and clear the rubble of the residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district hit yesterday, have just found the corpse,” Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko posted on his Telegram account.
A 25-story residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district was partially destroyed as a result of the attack.
“Ten people were injured. Four of them were hospitalized” confirmed the mayor.
The missile strike was the first in several weeks since Russian forces withdrew from the region around the capital. EFE
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