Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 352 civilians have been killed including 14 children and some 1684 have been injured, including 116 children, according to the latest bulletin from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar announced severe estimated losses to Russia as of 28 February at 6am. These include over 5300 dead and injured soldiers, 29 aircraft, 29 helicopters, 191 tanks, 816 armored vehicles, 291 vehicles, two vessels, and five drones, amongst others.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russia is continuing air strikes on the country including targeting civilian airfields, military control points, air defence facilities, civilian infrastructure, and residential areas. In violation of international law, Russian forces have allegedly launched an attack on residential buildings in Zhytomyr and Chernihiv.
In Polissya, Russian forces have tried to cross the Irpin River and to capture the city of Irpin but both attempts were unsuccessful. There are further reports of a demoralised Russian army with several desertions and defectors.
Overall, the army stated that the pace of the Russian offensive has decreased but they are still attempting to capture certain areas.
As for the capital of Kyiv, commander of the local defence force Colnel-General Oleksandr Syrsky said repeated attempts to storm the capital have been rebuffed.
“All attempts to achieve the goal by the Russian occupation forces failed. Columns of occupier’s equipment were destroyed. The enemy suffered significant personnel losses. Russian troops are demoralized and exhausted. We have shown that we know how to protect our home from uninvited guests,” he said.
The Ministry of Culture has also called on Facebook to block pages posting Russian propaganda including various media.
“We hope that their actions will not take long. Russia’s propaganda machine must finally be destroyed so as not to poison the lives of Ukrainians or the world,” the ministry said in a statement.
