Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was interviewed on Tuesday by the US media outlet Newsmax. “We’re losing 60 to 100 soldiers per day as killed in the conflict and around 500 people as wounded,” Zelensky told Newsmax.

“The situation in the East is really difficult,” the Ukrainian President added.

Russian forces are attempting to take control of the Luhansk region in the east as fierce fighting is taking place in the region.

A greater part of Sievierodonetsk, a key city in the Luhansk region, has fallen into the Russian forces. 90 percent of the city is reported to have been destroyed in the Russian bombardment.

Zelensky stated that his country "is holding its defensive perimeter" in the East.

According to the Western sources reporting from the ground, the Russian forces have also suffered heavy losses in the conflict. The Ukrainian government claimed last week that Russia had suffered more than 30,000 casualties since the beginning of the war. However, it does not seem possible to verify this information from other sources. Russia does not reveal its casualties officially.

Meanwhile, after the US gave the green light to the delivery of a long-range multiple-rocket system to Ukraine, Germany announced that it would send an advanced air defence system against Russian air attacks. Germany has been criticized for sending limited weapons to Ukraine.