Ukraine Claims to Have Destroyed Dozens of Russian Helicopters and Killed 11,000 Troops

• Ukraine claims to have destroyed dozens of Russian helicopters at an airfield near Kherson overnight

• Military also said it had recaptured Chuhuiv, near Kharkiv, and killed two commanders in the process

• Meanwhile units in Odessa claimed to have hit and destroyed a Russian patrol ship off the coast

• Experts say Russian losses becoming 'unsustainable' with no significant territory captured in recent days

The above graphic although not independently varified paints a grim picture for the Russian force.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine for all intents and purposes appears to have ground to a halt with no significant territory captured despite a weekend of heavy fighting, with Kyiv's men claiming to have taken out dozens of helicopters and recaptured a city this morning - sparking hopes that the unlikeliest of victories may be in the cards for the underdog Ukranians. I don't know many people who at the onset of this invasion would have believed what has come to be so far.

Putin's forces have renewed their bombardments on Mariupol, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv this morning as hundreds of civilians tried to evacuate Irpin - on the outskirts of Kyiv - across a destroyed bridge after days of heavy attacks in an attempt to encircle the capital.

The Russian commanders have not significantly advanced their frontline since the city of Kherson and nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia were captured last week.

Surely, there is not a soul among us that is not moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families – mostly women, children, the infirmed and the elderly – fleeing from Russia's invading armed forces.

The tally of misery surely will increase over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of the Russian madman will require accommodation, schools and medical support moving forward. In an effort to support that many support systems have set up charitable contributions to help the Ukranian people to help them and support them with aid and essential services. So we encourage our readers to do their research and give from their hearts swiftly and generously. The Ukrainian armed forces claimed to have destroyed up to 30 Russian helicopters that had been moved to Chornobaivka airport, near Kherson, overnight and to have retaken the city of Chuhuiv, near Kharkiv, killing two Russian commanders - Lt. Col. Dmitry Safronov, and Lt Col. Denis Glebov - in the process.

Then later in the day, Urkaine said it had also recaptured the airport at Mykolaiv and repulsed a Russian counter-attack.

Video has also emerged which appeared to show Ukrainian defence forces based in Odessa, the country's largest port, exchanging fire with ships overnight - one of which suffered a hit. With the Ukrainian ministry of defence claiming the vessel, a corvette named Vasily Bykov, was damaged. The images showed it afloat with black smoke pouring out in the early hours.

President Volodymyr Zelesnky, speaking this afternoon, said that Ukraine 'never wanted this war, but it was brought to us' and now its military is being forced to kill 'to knock the enemy from our land and our lives' while civilians endure 'what no other European country has seen in 80 years'.

With Ukraine's military now estimating that 11,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in fighting along with the loss of 1,000 armoured vehicles, 290 tanks, 68 helicopters, 46 planes and dozens of other piece of hardware. Although not independently verified and the independent observers stating lower totals, but Franz-Stefan Gady - of the International Institute for Strategic Studies - said the situation is never-the-less 'slowly becoming unsustainable for Russia'.

US intelligence believes that Russia had committed 95 per cent of the invasion force it had assembled on Ukraine's border to the fight, this point meaning that significant reinforcements to push its attacks forward are unlikely to come anytime soon - and when reinforcements do arrive that they could simply run into many of the same logistical problems that plagued the early assault.

That has prompted some - including UK general Admiral Sir Tony Radakin - to predict that Russia could actually lose the war. Asked by the BBC on Sunday whether victory for Putin's men was 'inevitable', as many had predicted before the fighting started, he responded: 'No.'

Of course a potential defeat for Russia does not automatically mean victory for Ukraine. Despite heavy losses Putin's men have still been able to capture key territory, particularly in the south, cutting Kyiv off from many of its vital Black Sea trading routes and naval bases. Although the Ukrainian forces have proven dogged in defence but it remains to be seen whether they can counter-attack successfully and push Russian forces back across the border.

It came as Ukrainian and Russian forces met in Belarus for a third round of talks between the two sides. Russia has for the first time raised the prospect of halting its operation, provided Ukraine recognises the independence of the Donbass, acknowledges Crimes as Russian territory and pledges never to join NATO. All of which have been professed as conditions by Moscow since before the invasion.