Zelensky warns against ‘pseudo-republic’ as he says 1,300 Ukrainian troops dead

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against the formation of a “pseudo-republic” in the south of his country as he revealed at least 1,300 Ukrainian troops have died so far in the invasion. Mr Zelensky said Russians were using blackmail and bribery in an attempt to force local officials to form a “pseudo-republic” in the southern Kherson region, much like those in Donetsk and Luhansk. Protection for the two eastern regions where pro-Russian separatists began fighting Ukrainian forces in 2014 was used as a pretext by Russia to start the invasion.