Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said some 23,000 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine since the conflict began just over two months ago.
In a Saturday night video address, the Ukrainian leader said that more than a thousand Russian tanks and almost 2,500 other military vehicles were also destroyed.
It is unclear how many Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. Moscow has so far confirmed the death of more than a thousand Russian soldiers and has put the number of Ukrainian fighters killed at more than 23,000.
For its part, the Defence Ministry in Moscow earlier on Saturday said that more than 2,600 Ukrainian tanks and armoured vehicles, around 650 drones as well as 142 aircraft and 112 helicopters had been put out of action.
A large part of the fighting has been focused on Luhansk and Donetsk, known collectively as the Donbass, which are mostly controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
The prevailing belief is that Russia is now focusing its power on claiming chunks of Ukraine’s south and east, after failing in its broader offensive.
“The occupiers are accumulating additional forces for new attacks against our military in the east of the country,” Zelensky said. “They built up reinforcements in the Kharkiv region, trying to increase pressure in Donbas.”
He appealed to the Russian military: “Every Russian soldier can still save his life. You’d better survive in Russia than die on our land.”
Zelensky said that Ukraine was continuing negotiations to strengthen sanctions against Russia. A decision on restrictions on oil imports from Russia is expected “in the near future,” he said.
