Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russian troops have sustained massive losses with some units being nearly destroyed. 

In a social media video message, he said “Ukrainians have proven they can fight more professionally than an army that has been waging wars for decades in various regions and conditions. We respond with wisdom and courage to the great number of their equipment and soldiers sent to Ukraine”. 

Switching to Russian from Ukrainian, Zelensky noted that in areas that have witnessed heavy fighting, the front lines of the defence is “littered with corpses of the Russian soldiers”. The Ukrainian president added, “And these corpses, these dead bodies, are not being picked up by anyone. New units are being sent to advance right over them”. 

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He also criticized Russia for its actions in Mariupol, the Azov Sea port city that is being constantly attacked. In a video message posted on Facebook, on Sunday, Zelensky said Russian actions would go down as a war crime and would be remembered for centuries. 

Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin has already been accused of war crimes for targeting civilians in Ukraine. While UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quick to join Zelensky in accusing Russia of war crimes, the US was much more hesitant. However, President Joe Biden has also called Putin a war criminal now. 

Russian shelling in Mariupol has left the city in terrible condition, with reports emerging that people are attacking each other for food. Thus far, a maternity ward has been hit, where Russians initially denied responsibility, after saying that it was a Ukrainian military position and not a hospital. The invading army has also hit a theatre that was housing civilians. 

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The building was destroyed but Italy has offered to provide necessary resources to Ukraine so they can rebuild the Mariupol theatre.