Ukraine says 9,000 of its troops have been killed since Russia launched war

A Ukrainian serviceman talks with others in his unit outside their bunks in the village where they’re currently staying in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine (David Goldman/AP)

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has killed 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers, a general said, with no signs the war is abating.

At a veteran’s event, Ukraine’s military chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said Ukraine’s children need to be taken care of because “their father went to the front line and, perhaps, is one of those almost 9,000 heroes who died”.