‘5,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine war’

KYIV: The Ukrainian authorities have claimed that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the first four days of fighting, BBC reported Monday.

In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian defence ministry officials claimed that approximately 5,300 Russian troops have been killed while 191 tanks, 29 fighter jets, 29 helicopters and 816 armoured personnel carriers have also been destroyed by their armed forces.

The development came as a Ukrainian delegation arrived at the border with Belarus for talks with Russian representatives that will focus on achieving an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of the invading forces.

The delegation includes Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak among others.

The BBC has added that it could not independently verify claims of Russian losses, though the UK's Ministry of Defence believes Russia has taken "heavy" casualties in the opening stages of the conflict.

According to foreign media, the Russian defence ministry, however, has acknowledged that its forces have suffered losses, though they did not provide an exact figure.

Meanwhile, UN observers said they had confirmed at least 94 civilian deaths during the first days of fighting.

It said the invasion had triggered "severe humanitarian consequences" and that casualties could be considerably higher.