Zelensky says 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russia's invasion

PanARMENIAN.Net - Around 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, March 13, Firstpost reports.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has said that at least 579 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, stressing that its figures were probably much lower than reality.

As the Ukraine-Russia war entered its 19th day on Monday, the Russian side has said that negotiators were making headway at talks to resolve fighting in Ukraine, while Zelensky has continued to encourage fighters to keep up their morale.

According to AFP, for the first two weeks of the war, Russia's forces had focused on eastern and southern areas of Ukraine, but in recent days they have moved to the centre, striking the city of Dnipro.

The Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk military airfields in western Ukraine were hit on Friday, while overnight Saturday-Sunday, missiles struck a military training ground in Yavoriv near Lviv, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Poland.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told ABC News that Russia was "clearly, at least from an air strike perspective... broadening their target sets".

Meanwhile in Kyiv, only the roads to the south remain open and the city is preparing to mount a "relentless defence", according to the Ukrainian presidency.

City authorities have set up checkpoints and stockpiling of food and medicine.

The northwestern suburb of Bucha is entirely held by Russian forces along with parts of Irpin, Ukrainian soldiers at the scene told AFP.