Russia unable to seize Ukraine’s major cities, loses 40% combat units

Russia has lost up to 40 per cent of the units it sent into Ukraine since 24 February, the Ukrainian military’s general staff claimed on Wednesday.

The troops were either completely destroyed or have lost their combat capabilities, he said at the daily bulletin, but did not give concrete numbers.

The information could not be verified independently, reports the German news agency Dpa.

The area surrounding embattled Mariupol continued to face the most serious situation.

The Russian army was attempting a blockade of the city from the western and eastern fringes of the port city, but was suffering “significant losses,” according to the bulletin.

Ukrainian authorities said some 20,000 people from Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, managed to get to safety on Tuesday.

About 30,000 civilians nationwide were able to leave threatened areas on Tuesday, but a column with relief supplies for Mariupol is still being blocked by Russian soldiers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In the Odessa region, Russian ships were shelling the Ukrainian coast but there was no attempt to land, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said.

So far, reports Reuters, Moscow has not captured any of Ukraine’s 10 biggest cities following its incursion that began on Feb. 24, the largest assault on a European state since 1945.

Ukrainian said Moscow may be coming to terms with its failure to impose a new government by force and running out of fresh troops

Ukrainian and Russian representatives are set to resume their negotiations on Wednesday.

Zelensky said demands are starting to get more realistic, while warning it would still take a while before Ukraine can be satisfied with talks.

Meanwhile the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia assured Zelensky of their solidarity and support during a visit to Kiev.

They travelled to Kiev by train in a gesture of support for Ukraine.