INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
eight deaths reported in Russian rocket fire.Zelensky published on social media an undated video clip of a visit to Snake Island in the
like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave," he said."I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of
our soldiers for these 500 days," he said in the video, which showed him arriving on the island by boat and leaving flowers.The UN has
documented 9,000 civilian deaths since the start of the war on Feb
24, 2022, including 500 children, although it estimates the real toll could be significantly higher.That toll went up again on Saturday as
Ukraine's interior ministry said eight people were killed and 13 injured by Russian rocket fire in the eastern town of Lyman.Russian news
agencies reported that two civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling overnight in the Russian-held town of Oleshky in southern
Ukraine.Noel Calhoun, deputy head of the UN's Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said the 500th day of the conflict marked
"another grim milestone in the war that continues to exact a horrific toll on Ukraine's civilians."'Act of desperation'Zelensky on
Saturday completed a visit to Turkey in which he secured backing for his country's NATO aspirations after winning a United States pledge
for cluster munitions that could inflict significant damage on Russian forces on the battlefield.The United States decision to deliver the
supplying Ukraine with weapons that are capable of covering several football fields with hundreds of multiple small explosives was "a
difficult decision."Humanitarian groups strongly condemned the decision to supply cluster munitions, which can go undetonated and
potentially endanger civilians for years to come.Russia, which itself uses cluster munitions in Ukraine, also criticised the decision on
Saturday saying it was an "act of desperation" that would have "no effect" on the conflict.Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria
Zakharova also said Ukraine's assurances it would use the ammunition responsibly "are not worth anything."'Contact is possible'Various
international efforts to mediate in the conflict have so far failed.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tried to portray himself as a
support for Ukraine's NATO aspiration."There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership of NATO," Erdogan told reporters in
Istanbul.Erdogan also said he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next month on what would be the Kremlin chief's first visit to
Turkey since the invasion.Asked about a possible meeting with Erdogan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies
on Saturday as saying: "Contact is possible
There are no fixed dates yet."Symbol of defianceZelensky meanwhile vowed defiance in the video of him visiting Snake Island, which was
captured by Russian forces shortly after the start of the invasion.A radio exchange went viral in which Ukrainian soldiers told the crew
exchanged for Russian captives.The recording of this verbal exchange has gone around the world and served as a theme for the Ukrainian
resistance, even appearing on placards during support rallies abroad and on stamps.The Russian ship involved, the Moskva, sank in the Black
recaptured the island in June last year.
