JAKARTA - The bodies of Russian soldiers who died in Ukraine were brought to a field near the railroad tracks outside the capital Kyiv and collected along with hundreds of others in refrigerated train cars, pending time to be returned to their families.
"Most of them were brought from the Kyiv region, some from the Chernihiv region, and some from other regions", said Volodymyr Lyamzin, head of civil-military liaison.
Several officers dressed in white armor were seen lifting body bags into the carriage.
He said refrigerated wagons stationed across Ukraine were also used for similar purposes.
While there are no precise estimates of the number of Russian casualties, the scene recorded by Reuters paints a bittersweet picture of President Vladimir Putin's "price to pay" since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The day before, the Ukrainian military released aerial photos of the burned and abandoned remains of a Russian armored vehicle after being caught trying to cross a river in the Donbas region, a major battleground.
Reuters was unable to verify the Ukrainian report. but Britain's defense ministry said a pontoon bridge and part of an armored battalion had been destroyed on the Siverskyi Donets River as Russian troops tried to break through defenses in other areas of the Donbas.
"We have entered a new, long phase of war", Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a Facebook post. He predicted "very tough weeks" when Ukraine would be alone against "furious aggressors".
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Ukrainian troops have won the fastest territorial victory since forcing Russian troops to leave Kyiv more than a month ago. They also succeeded in driving the enemy out of the second-largest city, Kharkiv.
The city, which had been bombarded by Russian bombs continuously, had been quiet for about two weeks. Reuters journalists confirmed that Ukraine had control of the area as far as the Siverskyi Donets River, about 40 km to the east.
However, Russian troops are still bombarding nearby areas, including Dergachi, about 10 km north of Kharkiv.
"I can't mention anything other than acts of terrorism", Dergachi Mayor Vyacheslav Zadorenko said after missiles hit a building used for aid distribution.
Russia, which denies targeting civilians, says its forces have pounded a weapons depot, shot down a Ukrainian Su-27 over Kharkiv, and disabled the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine.
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