Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Wednesday that more than 2,000 civilians have been killed since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. Attacks on civilian areas have increased in the last 48 hours, but the casualty number is impossible to verify.
The latest: In its first acknowledgement of significant casualties, Russia's defense ministry announced that 498 Russian troops had been killed and 1,597 injured. Ukraine has claimed its forces have killed more than 5,300 Russian troops. Neither figures have been independently verified.
- A senior U.S. defense official declined to comment on the accuracy of the Russian figures, but said: "My advice to anyone would be to be extremely skeptical over any information the Russian Ministry of Defense puts out there. I would be extremely skeptical."
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin canceled a ballistic missile test scheduled for this week "to demonstrate we are a responsible nuclear power," following Vladimir Putin's decision to raise the alert level of Russia's nuclear deterrent forces.
The big picture: The Russian plan to sprint to Kyiv and force a swift capitulation has faltered under stout Ukrainian resistance. But Russian forces are taking towns and cities, particularly in the south, intensifying their bombardments of cities like Kharkiv in the east, and continuing to funnel forces toward the capital.
State of play: A senior U.S. defense official told reporters that there has been "no appreciable movement" by the 40-mile Russian convoy outside of Kyiv, and that it remains "stalled" outside the city....
- Russia has committed 82% of the combat power it assembled on Ukraine's border but continues to be "bedeviled" by "logistical and sustainment issues" such as lack of fuel, the official