Russian troops have slowed down ‘pace of the offensive’, claims Ukrainian military

KYIV: The Ukrainian military on Monday claimed that the Russian troops have slowed down ‘pace of the offensive’ against the country and suffered heavy casualties in nearly five days of fighting.

“Russian troops have slowed down the pace of the offensive,” the Ukrainian military was quoted as saying by the news agency AFP. Ukraine's Interior Ministry has earlier said that nearly 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during Russia's invasion, including 14 children. 

It said an additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded. The ministry's statement on Sunday did not give any information on casualties among Ukraine's armed forces.

Russia has claimed that its troops are targeting only Ukrainian military facilities and says that Ukraine's civilian population is not in danger. Russia has not released any information on casualties among its troops. 

The Russian Defence Ministry acknowledged on Sunday that only Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded, without giving any numbers. 

In a dramatic escalation of East-West tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert in response to what he called "aggressive statements" by leading NATO powers.

Sunday's directive to put Russia's nuclear weapons in an increased state of readiness for launch raised fears that the crisis could boil over into nuclear warfare, whether by design or mistake.

Putin's step is "potentially putting in play forces that, if there's a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous," said a senior US Defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Amid the mounting tensions, Ukraine announced that a delegation from the country had agreed to meet with Russian officials for talks.  But the Kremlin's ultimate aims in Ukraine and what steps might be enough to satisfy Moscow remained unclear.

The fast-moving developments came as scattered fighting was reported in Kyiv, battles broke out in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, and strategic ports in the country's south came under assault from Russian forces.

With Russian troops closing in around Kyiv, a city of almost 3 million, the mayor of the capital expressed doubt civilians could be evacuated.

Russia`s political and economic isolation also deepened on Monday as its forces met stiff resistance in Ukraine`s capital and other cities in the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.

Ukraine said negotiations with Moscow without preconditions would be held at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. Russian news agency Tass cited an unidentified source as saying the talks would start on Monday morning.

US President Joe Biden will host a call with allies and partners on Monday to coordinate a united response, the White House said. The United States said Putin was escalating the war with "dangerous rhetoric" about Russia`s nuclear posture, amid signs Russian forces were preparing to besiege major cities in the democratic country of about 44 million people.

As missiles rained down, nearly 400,000 civilians, mainly women and children, have fled into neighbouring countries, a UN relief agency said. A senior US defence official said Russia had fired more than 350 missiles at Ukrainian targets so far, some hitting civilian infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson by telephone on Sunday that the next 24 hours would be crucial for Ukraine, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

So far, the Russian offensive cannot claim any major victories. Russia has not taken any Ukrainian city, does not control Ukraine`s airspace, and its troops remained roughly 30 km (19 miles) from Kyiv`s city centre for a second day, the official said.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour`s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.