Victims Of Russian Invasion In Ukraine Continue To Fall, President Zelensky Asks For Additional Assistance Before The US Congress

JAKARTA - The death toll and injuries from Russia's invasion of Ukraine continue to fall, with President Volodymyr Zelensky again asking for additional aid from Western countries, while President Putin says special military operations are on track.

In a speech to the United States Congress via video link, President Zelensky called for tougher sanctions on Russia and more weapons to help his country, reiterating requests for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, something the West fears will exacerbate the conflict.

"In this darkest time for our country, for all of Europe, I ask you to do more," said President Zelenskiy, who showed video clips of dead and injured children and blown up buildings.

At the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Washington will help Ukraine acquire additional long-range anti-aircraft missile systems while the West supports his government, which is still hoping for a diplomatic solution.

Meanwhile, President Putin on Wednesday said he was ready to discuss a neutral status for Ukraine. But what he called a 'special military operation' for the country's demilitarization and denazification 'going as planned' was justified by the need to enforce Russia's security. Ukraine and the West say Moscow carried out the attack without reason.

Kremlin forces continue to bombard besieged towns, including intensified shelling in the capital Kyiv, as more than 3 million Ukrainians have fled and hundreds died.

The US Embassy in Kyiv said Russian troops had shot dead 10 people queuing for bread in Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv. Russia denied the attack and said the incident was a hoax.

Footage from Ukraine's state broadcaster showed bodies lying on the street. Ukraine's public prosecutor's office said it had opened an investigation.

Emergency services said rescue workers had recovered the bodies of five people, including three children, during a search of residential buildings hit by the bomb attack in Chernihiv.

Meanwhile in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, the city council said Russian troops bombed a theater where civilians were sheltering. The number of victims is unknown.

Russia's defense ministry has denied carrying out air strikes against the theater. Reuters was unable to independently verify the information.

Maxar Technologies, a private US company, distributed satellite imagery it said it collected on March 14 and shows the words "children" in large Russian script painted on the ground outside the red-roofed Mariupol Drama Theatre.

Separately, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region said Russian troops had fired artillery at a convoy of refugees from Mariupol, wounding five people on Wednesday. The Ukrainian military said children were among the victims.

Three people were killed and five injured after a shooting caused a fire at a market in eastern Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, emergency services said.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 400 staff and patients were being held hostage at a hospital captured by Russian forces in Mariupol on Tuesday. Moscow denies targeting civilians.

In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russian shelling caused fires and damaged private homes and gas lines there on Wednesday evening after a series of attacks in the early hours of the morning.

For information, Ukraine says around 20,000 people have fled the Mariupol siege by car, but hundreds of thousands are still trapped under the bombardment without heat, electricity or water. More than 3 million refugees have now fled Ukraine for other countries.