Zelenskyy Says 700,000 Soldiers Defending Ukraine

Some 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers are now actively participating in defending the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a televised interview on Saturday, Euronews reported.

Photo Insert: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine bestowing honors on the country's war heroes

In comparison, Russia deployed anywhere between 100,000 to 190,000 troops when it launched its invasion on February 24, with the exact numbers of currently active units unclear.

Meanwhile, the Moscow forces continued their assault in the east after claiming victory in Mariupol on Friday as the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in Azovstal laid down their arms.

Russia also suspended its gas delivery to Finland on Saturday morning in response to the country's NATO membership bid.

Earlier, Moscow said more than 1,900 Ukrainian fighters at the plant had surrendered. Russian forces stepped up their assaults in eastern Ukraine, with fierce bombardment of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region, which Moscow says is almost under its control, the Associated Press (AP) also reported.

Moscow should be made to pay for the destruction of property in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Friday. The Donbas region has been turned into “hell,” Zelenskyy said earlier, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

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