<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed "brave" Ukraine on the 500th day of Russia's invasion on Saturday, as the war's toll mounted with eight deaths reported in Russian rocket fire.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zelensky published on social media an undated video clip of a visit to Snake Island in the Black Sea -- a symbol of Ukraine's defiance against Russia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Today we are on Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The UN has documented 9,000 civilian deaths since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, including 500 children, although it estimates the real toll could be significantly higher.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That toll rose 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russian news agencies reported that two civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-held town of Oleshky in the south.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 'Act of desperation' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zelensky on Saturday completed a visit to Turkey in which he secured backing for his country's NATO aspirations after winning a US pledge for cluster munitions that could inflict significant damage to Russian forces on the battlefield.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On his return to Ukraine, Zelensky also brought back five Ukrainian commanders who were supposed to have remained in Turkey until the end of the conflict under a prisoner exchange deal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russia denounced the release of the men, members of the crack Azov regiment celebrated in Ukraine for their stiff resistance at the Azovstal factory during the months-long siege of the port city of Mariupol.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The return of Azov commanders from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing but a direct violation of the terms of existing agreements," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said Ukraine and Turkey had violated the terms of the agreement and claimed their return was linked to the "failure of the counter-offensive" launched by Ukraine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Washington's decision to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs -- banned across a large part of the world -- dramatically ups the stakes in the war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">US President Joe Biden admitted that supplying Ukraine with weapons that are capable of covering several football fields with hundreds of multiple small explosives was "a difficult decision".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Humanitarian groups strongly condemned the decision to supply cluster munitions, which can go undetonated and potentially endanger civilians for years to come.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russia, which itself uses cluster munitions in Ukraine, also criticised the decision, saying it was an "act of desperation" that would have "no effect" on the conflict.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said Ukraine's assurances it would use the ammunition responsibly "are not worth anything".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 'Contact is possible' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Various international efforts to mediate in the conflict have so far failed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tried to portray himself as a neutral mediator, substantially boosting wartime trade with Russia while supplying Ukraine with drones and other weapons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But while reaffirming his longstanding call for both sides to enter peace talks, Erdogan risked drawing Russia's ire by delivering unequivocal support for Ukraine's NATO aspiration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership of NATO," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Asked about a possible meeting with Erdogan, Kremlin spokesman Peskov was quoted on Saturday as saying: "Contact is possible. There are no fixed dates yet."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Symbol of defiance -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zelensky meanwhile vowed defiance in the video of him visiting Snake Island, which was captured by Russian forces shortly after the start of the invasion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A radio exchange went viral in which Ukrainian soldiers told the crew of Russia's attacking warship demanding their surrender to "go fuck yourself".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner but later exchanged for Russian captives.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Russian ship involved, the Moskva, sank in the Black Sea in April 2022 following what Moscow said was an explosion on board.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ukraine said it had hit the warship with missiles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ukrainian forces recaptured the island in June last year. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>