Ukraine says up to 3,000 troops killed in war with Russia

KVIV • President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in seven weeks of war with Russia and about 10,000 injured, but there was no count of civilian casualties.

He also told CNN on Friday that 19,000 to 20,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in the war.

Moscow said last month that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded.

Reuters could not independently verify either side's numbers.

Russia pledged on Friday to launch more strikes on Kyiv and said it had used cruise missiles to target the Vizar factory on the edge of Kyiv, which it said made and repaired missiles, including anti-ship missiles.

The attack followed Thursday's sinking of the Moskva, the flagship of Moscow's Black Sea fleet.

Ukraine's military said yesterday the presence of Russian warships in the Black Sea, armed with sea-launched missiles, suggests an increased possibility that Russia would use them to strike Ukraine's defence industry and logistics infrastructure.

It said also that Russia's navy was active in the Sea of Azov to block the port of Mariupol, where ground fighting has intensified as Ukraine said it was trying to break Russia's siege.

Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, Mariupol has been reduced to rubble. Thousands of civilians have died and tens of thousands remain trapped.

"The situation in Mariupol is difficult and hard. Fighting is happening right now. The Russian army is constantly calling on additional units to storm the city," Ukraine Defence Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told a briefing.

He said the Russians have not completely captured it.

Mr Zelensky has appealed to President Joe Biden for the United States to designate Russia a "state sponsor of terrorism", joining North Korea, Cuba, Iran and Syria, the Washington Post reported, citing sources.

A White House spokesman responded by saying: "We will continue to consider all options to increase the pressure on (Russia's President Vladimir) Putin."

Mr Zelensky said Russia could use nuclear weapons out of desperation as its invasion falters, echoing comments by Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns. Asked about the threat, Mr Zelensky said "all of the world" should be worried Russia "began to speak about... nuclear weapons or some chemical weapons".

"They could do it, I mean they can," he told CNN. "For them, life of the people is nothing... let's not be afraid - be ready."

Mr Burns had said on Thursday that Russia's battlefield setbacks raised the risk that President Putin could deploy a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon.

The Kremlin said it had placed Russian nuclear forces on high alert shortly after the assault began on Feb 24, but the US said it has not seen any sign of unusual nuclear movements.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and the country's top finance officials will visit Washington this week during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, sources familiar with the plans said on Friday.

Mr Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko are slated to meet bilaterally with finance officials from the Group of Seven countries and others, and take part in a roundtable on Ukraine to be hosted by the World Bank on Thursday, the sources said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS