At Least 70 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed In Russian Strike As Death Toll From Invasion Mounts

Topline

More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed by a Russian rocket attack in the city of Okhtyrka on Tuesday, according to Ukraine authorities who have accused Moscow of engaging in “barbaric tactics” and war crimes as the death toll from the Russian invasion mounts on the sixth day.

Key Facts

Dmytro Zhyvytskyy, the region’s head, shared photos of a charred and demolished four-story building in Okhtyrka—located between the western city of Kharkiv and the capital Kyiv—which was reportedly a base of operations for the soldiers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the invading Russian forces of engaging in war crimes and noted that 16 children were killed by Russian bombardments in the first four days of fighting, with 45 more injured.

On Monday, Ukraine reported a civilian death toll of 352 and later that day at least 11 people were killed by Russian strikes on Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov on Tuesday claimed that more than 5,710 Russian soldiers have been killed by Ukraine’s forces since the start of the invasion, but this number has not been confirmed by Russian officials.

Russia acknowledged deaths and injuries among its soldiers for the first time on Monday, but did not offer any concrete numbers and claimed that losses were “considerably lower” than what was seen in Ukrainian forces.

This is a developing story.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/03/01/at-least-70-ukrainian-soldiers-killed-in-russian-strike-as-death-toll-from-invasion-mounts/