KIEV: With Moscow's assault of Kiev now in its second month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said that his country's military "had inflicted heavy blows to the enemy," adding that the Russian side has suffered "major losses."

"Over the last week, our heroic Armed Forces have inflicted heavy blows to the enemy, huge casualties," the President stated in a video speech uploaded on Facebook early Saturday morning. The suspected disappearance of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was last seen in public on March 11, was also mentioned by Zelenksy. According to reports, Russia's Minister of Defense has vanished... "I'm curious if he wanted to go to Chornobaivka personally." President Obama enquired.

Shoigu suffered a heart attack "after a tough accusation by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin for a complete failure of the invasion of Ukraine," according to Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's Interior Minister, who added that he is currently "undergoing rehabilitation" in hospital, according to the BBC.

On Thursday, the Defence Minister appeared briefly in a video, but there was no official confirmation of his whereabouts. "Our defenders who showed the occupiers that the sea will not remain peaceful for them even when there is no storm," Zelensky said in his video message. Because "There will be fire."

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