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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
David Kent & Marita Moloney

Russia claims nearly 500 of its troops killed and over 1,500 wounded in first admission of casualties in Ukraine

Russia's defence ministry has given its first figures for casualties sustained during its invasion of Ukraine.

It says 498 Russian soldiers have been killed and 1,597 wounded so far, with the Minister for Defence revealing the figures on Wednesday afternoon, according to local media.

The figure is far below Ukraine's claim of Russian casualties - with leaders in Kyiv saying they have killed 5,840 Russian troops.

Russia has also claimed that more than 2,870 Ukrainian service members have been killed and about 3,700 wounded.

The UN refugee agency says more than 660,000 people - mostly women and children - have left the country so far since Russia invaded last Monday.

Further attacks began overnight, with Ukraine's foreign ministry calling Russia barbaric for attacking a TV tower near a memorial site that commemorates the victims of Babyn Yar.

Four people were killed when homes in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr were hit by a Russian cruise missile on Tuesday.

Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, said on his Telegram channel, the residential buildings 120km west of the capital Kyiv had been set on fire.

He said: "So far, four people have died. Including a child."

US President Joe Biden has called Vladimir Putin a "dictator" in his State of the Union address.

He said: "Throughout our history we've learned this lesson - when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos.

"They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising."

He went on to highlight how Putin had turned away options to avoid war.

"Putin's war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected repeated efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn't respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home," Biden said.

"Putin was wrong. We are ready."

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