Ukrainian army prepares for final battle in Mariupol with 'no water, no food'

The Ukrainian Army claimed on Monday that it is preparing for the "final battle" in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the southwest of the country, which Russian troops have besieged for 47 days.

"Today is probably going to be the final battle as our ammunition is running out... This means death for some of us and captivity for others," the 36th Marine Brigade, part of Ukraine's armed forces, wrote on Facebook. "We are gradually disappearing."

"We don't know what will happen, but we ask you to remember [us] with a kind word," the brigade continued. "For more than a month we have been fighting without ammunition, without food, without water," doing "the possible and the impossible."

Approximately "half" of the brigade is wounded, according to the statement. In addition, during the more than 40 days of intense fighting, "the enemy has pushed us back little by little… surrounded us and is now trying to destroy us."

Ukraine says more than 19,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during invasion

The Ukrainian Army said on Monday that more than 19,000 Russian military personnel have died in combat since the invasion began on February 24 on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, reports Europa Press.

He added that 725 tanks, more than a thousand armored vehicles, 347 artillery systems, 55 air defense units, 137 helicopters, 154 aircraft, seven ships, and 119 drones have been destroyed.

Ukrainian forces warned that calculations are "complicated" due to the intensity of hostilities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted on Thursday that the Russian Army has suffered a "significant" loss of troops in Ukraine, adding that the "operation" could culminate "in the next few days."

Peskov called his Army's casualties "a great tragedy" for Moscow, in an interview for Sky News.

"We hope that in the coming days, in the foreseeable future, this operation will achieve its objectives or end it with negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations," the spokesman added.