KIEV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has predicted that Russia will lose over 40,000 troops by the end of June.

The President said in a video address on Sunday: "In Donbas, the Russian army is attempting to deploy reserve forces. But what reserves do they have at the moment?" They appear to be sending inadequately trained conscripts into battle, and those recruited through covert mobilisation attempts. Russian generals regard their citizens as nothing more than cannon fodder, which they require in order to ensure that they outnumber us in terms of military troops and military equipment.

Zelenksy went on to explain that the most fierce battles between the two warring nations are currently taking place in Sievierodonetsk, a city in the separatist Luhansk area of Donbas.

"The Ukrainian Defense forces are battling for every inch of Ukrainian territory," he claimed, adding that Russian forces were marching on Lysychansk, Bakhmut, and Sloviansk. While Lysychansk is located in Luhansk, Bakhmut and Sloviansk are located in Donestsk, which is also located in Donbas.

Meanwhile, the military administration of the Luhansk area claims that Russian forces have been firing on Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk nonstop since Sunday. According to the report, Russian shelling killed a six-year-old child, and Russian soldiers were attempting to push past the Ukrainian defence line by using heavy artillery fire.

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