A ritual worker picks up the body of a killed Russian soldier before loading them to a refrigerated rail car, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a compound of a morgue in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 22, 2022.
A ritual worker picks up the body of a killed Russian soldier before loading them to a refrigerated rail car, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a compound of a morgue in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 22, 2022. Reuters / STRINGER

KEY POINTS

  • Ukraine says more than 62,800 Russian soldiers have been killed since the war began
  • The Ukrainian army successfully destroyed 9 Russian tanks and 16 combat armored machines
  • Ukraine's gains came the same day when Russia's missile strikes left 14 Ukrainian civilians dead

The Ukrainian army killed over 300 Russian soldiers despite a barrage of missile strikes that left over a dozen Ukrainian civilians dead and nearly 100 wounded.

At least 370 Russian soldiers were killed in combat Monday, bringing Russia's military death total to 62,870 since the beginning of the war, according to estimates from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The Russian army suffered the most losses in the Kryvyi Rih and Kramatorsk directions.

Apart from the military losses, the Ukrainian army also successfully destroyed 9 Russian tanks, 16 combat armored machines, 9 artillery systems, 11 UAV operational-tactical level machines and 18 military vehicles and fuel tanks Monday, authorities said.

In total, Russia is reported to have lost 2,495 tanks, 5,149 combat armored machines, 1,486 artillery systems, 1,097 UAVs and 3,908 military vehicles and fuel tanks since the invasion began in February.

Ukraine's gain came on the day when Russia launched a series of missile strikes on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine, killing 14 civilians and wounding 97. The strikes hit more than 10 cities from Lviv Oblast in the west to Kharkiv in the east.

Power in more than 1,300 settlements across Ukraine had also been cut off following the strikes, specifically in the regions of Lviv, Kyiv, Sumy, Ternopil and Khmelnytsky.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the bombing was in his country's response to the attack on Kerch Bridge in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. Multiple reports said a truck blew up and ignited nearby fuel tanks on a passing train, leading to a partial collapse of the bridge that served as a critical supply line for Moscow.

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While some Ukrainian officials celebrated the bombing, Kyiv has yet to take responsibility for the Crimean bridge blast. Putin, however, accused Ukraine's security special services of ordering, organizing and carrying out the "terrorist attack."

International leaders have since condemned Russia's missile strikes. India and China, two of Russia's biggest allies, have also called for a de-escalation between Russian and Ukrainian forces and called for dialogue between the two sides, The New York Times reported.

There were days of heavy fighting in Krestchenivka, a village recently recaptured from Russian troops in southern Ukraine
AFP
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