Russian strikes kill 500 Ukrainian soldiers

As many as 500 Ukrainian troops from a single brigade were killed in the city of Nikolaev, defense ministry said.

Russian defense ministry claimed that as many as 500 troops were killed on Tuesday by Russian strikes on a shipbuilding plant in the Ukrainian port of Nikolaev.

The troops belong to the Ukrainian Army's 59th Mechanized Brigade, which it said was believed to have taken cover at the Okean Shipyard. The facility is located in the southern part of the Ukrainian city that is located on a major river some 60 kilometers inland from the Black Sea.

The ministry said the Russian Air Force had used precision weapons to attack the plant's workshops, killing Ukrainian service members and destroying arms and military vehicles.

Ukrainian sources reported several Russian cruise missile strikes targeting Nikolaev on Tuesday. The Ukrainian military said these incidents caused damage to port infrastructure, industrial buildings and the power grid, and destroyed some trucks.

Russia also claimed to have routed the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade in the briefing. The Ukrainian unit lost 60% of its strength during fighting for the territory claimed by the Moscow-allied Lugansk People s Republic, according to the report. The Russian military said that the brigade fled from its positions in violation of the command to stand its ground.

Last week, the Russian military claimed to have killed scores of Ukrainian officers after striking a compound where a meeting of commanders of several Ukrainian units took place.

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied that it plans to retake the two republics by force.