Zelensky warns against ‘pseudo-republic’ as he says 1,300 Ukrainian troops dead

A medical worker holds a newborn girl, Alana, who was born by cesarian section in a hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against the formation of ‘pseudo-republics’ in the south of his country as he revealed at least 1,300 Ukrainian troops have died so far in the invasion (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against the formation of a “pseudo-republic” in the south of his country as he revealed at least 1,300 Ukrainian troops have died so far in the invasion.

Mr Zelensky said Russians were using blackmail and bribery in an attempt to force local officials to form a “pseudo-republic” in the southern Kherson region, much like those in Donetsk and Luhansk.