Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s troops face deadliest day of year as Kremlin gives update on peace talks
Russia lost more than 1,700 troops this week on Tuesday, suffering its deadliest day of war against Ukraine in a sign that Moscow’s planned offensive has been foiled.
Ukraine’s general staff said it had killed or wounded 1,710 Russian troops on 17 March and destroyed 29 artillery systems as well as 230 vehicles and fuel tankers. The Russian forces have recorded losses between 700 to 900 troops per day on average in recent months, according to the Ukrainian military.
Ukraine said its unmanned systems force, which oversees drone strikes, was responsible for killing or wounding 900 Russian soldiers in a day and a half, after Moscow’s forces attempted to surge forward on the Zaporizhzhia front.
This comes as peace talks between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv are on a “situational pause, for obvious reasons” the Kremlin has said, as war in Iran continues.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters: “This is a situational pause, for obvious reasons,” in response to a front page story in Izvestia about the halt in talks which suggested the war could push Kyiv towards compromise.
