The Ukrainian General Staff has announced that some 18,900 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the war at the end of February this year.

The General Staff noted on Thursday that the Ukrainian army destroyed, between February 24 and April 7 this year, 150 fighter jets, 135 helicopters and 698 tanks belonging to the Russians. The Ukrainian General Staff added that its forces had also managed to destroy 1,891 armored vehicles, 332 artillery barrels, 108 missile batteries and 55 air defense missile batteries.

According to their statement, the Ukrainian army managed to destroy 1,358 military vehicles, 7 ships and artillery boats, 76 fuel tanks and 111 UAVs of the Russian army.

Russia is demanding that Ukraine abandon any plan to join military entities, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, and to maintain absolute neutrality, which Kyiv considers an "intervention in its sovereignty" to end the operation.