On the second day of fierce fighting between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian defence ministry reportedly claimed that around 1,000 Russian soldiers had died so far. The Ukrainian government reportedly said that Russia has never suffered such casualties in any of its previous conflicts.
The claim came amid reports of Russian forces entering Ukrainian capital Kyiv, leading to battles inside the city.
Meanwhile, the Russian government reportedly claimed that President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Belarus capital Minsk for talks with a Ukrainian team.
ALSO WATCH | Russian forces inside Ukraine capital Kyiv
Russia's message came even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his offer of dialogue to "stop people dying". "I'd like to address the Russian President again. Fighting is going on the entire territory of Ukraine. Let's sit down for talks to put a stop to people dying. Europe has enough powers to stop this aggression. What we are waiting from European countries for is the cessation of visas for Russians, disconnection from SWIFT, full isolation of Russia, withdrawal of ambassadors, oil embargo, closure of the airspace. Today everything should be on the table, because it's about the threat to us, all of us, to the entire Europe," Zelenskyy said.
In a press briefing, Russia's foreign minister repeated Moscow's condition that Ukraine should lay down arms for talks to begin. Sergey Lavrov said, "We are ready for talks at any moment, once the Ukrainian Armed Forces answer to our president's call, stop their resistance and lay down their arms. Nobody is going to attack and oppress them, let them return to their families, and let's give the Ukrainian people a chance to decide their future."