Latest news about the war between Russia and Ukraine: Russian convoy approaches Kyiv, Kharkov faces shelling

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Deputies in the House, who received a secret briefing Monday night from senior Biden officials about Russia’s invasion, were told that Ukraine had suffered 1,500 civilian and military casualties since the attack began, according to two people in the briefing. It was not clear whether the death toll was only dead or included.

The group, which included Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm, Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and National Intelligence Director Avril Haynes, also estimated that the current phase of the conflict could continue for another three to four weeks before turning into riot. against the invasion of Russian forces.

“In the end, I think Russia will win this, but what they gain will be the bigger question,” said Ruben Galego (D-Ariz). . “

Representative Jason Crowe (D-Colo.) Called on the administration to deliver more weapons to Ukrainian forces more quickly.

“Ukrainians are fighting hard and putting an end to this – we just have to provide them with the supplies and ammunition needed to continue the battle,” Crowe said.

The number of victims of the House of Representatives briefing differs from other publicly available figures, but variations in these statistics are not surprising, given the difficulty of quantifying the fee in real time as terrain conditions deteriorate.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, for example, reported at least 406 civilian casualties – including 102 dead – but UNHCR Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Coordinator Martin Griffiths said “the real figure could be significant. higher. “

The death toll, already significant in just a few days of fighting, is also expected to rise significantly in the coming days, military and intelligence experts said.

“It’s only going to get worse,” said Angela Stent, a Georgetown University scientist and former intelligence official who has worked on Russia.

Representative Victoria Sparz, who was born and raised in Ukraine, also said she expects the death toll to rise, especially given the heavy shelling in major cities such as Kharkiv.

“It will probably be a very significant loss of life,” she said, but added: “In the long run, Ukrainians will not give up. Ukrainians simply will not obey. “