Russia: In a new televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his country's special forces for "heroically carrying out their military duties," as per reports.

Putin expressed his "special gratitude" for troops involved in the "special operation to provide assistance to the people's republics of Donbas," according to the report, a reference to the Kremlin's propaganda line that it intervened in Ukraine to help pro-Russian separatists who were facing "genocide" at the hands of the legitimate government.

Putin spoke on Special Operations Forces (SOF) Day, as his massive forces looked to be ratcheting up their assault to crush Ukrainian opposition despite rising Russian losses.

Although the head of the Dagestan regional government recently offered his condolences to the family of a slain paratrooper in what may have been a case of going off script, The Kremlin has so far not declared any fatalities from the battle.

Russian forces stormed Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, on Sunday after failing to capture control of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, overnight. Ukraine's President declared his country was ready for peace talks.

Footage that has been circulated on social media According to the Daily Mail, Russian army trucks were seen rolling through the metropolis of 1.41 million people, which is located in Eastern Ukraine near the Russian border.

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