President Vladimir Putin said he'd sought an "open dialogue" with the West.
Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout the east and south.
Putin's forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday spoke to Parliament in London, thanking members for their support against the "evil" aggression of the Russian invasion Ukraine.
He thanked Britain for training troops "who will be then deployed to the front line -- front line -- skilled, eager and equipped to win."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London on Wednesday.
He's also expected to address Parliament, "as the UK steps up its delivery of lethal aid into the country, and prepares to train fighter jet pilots and marines," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
"President Zelenskyy's visit to the UK is a testament to his country's courage, determination and fight, and a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries," Sunak said in a statement.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Guy Davies
The Russian death toll has reached its highest number in a 24-hour period since the invasion of Ukraine began, according to Ukrainian military officials.
At least 1,030 Russian soldiers died overnight into Tuesday, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. About 1,900 soldiers died in a two-day period after 25 Russian tanks were destroyed, Ukrainian military officials said.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Ukraine’s minister of defense warned his western partners Sunday that if they "procrastinate" over the supply of aircraft to Ukraine, more Ukrainians will die.
"If we will have a procrastination or reluctance with aircraft platforms, it will cost us more lives, more blood of Ukrainians," Oleksiy Reznikov told reporters in Kyiv.
Reznikov appeared to concede that the most readily available and Ukraine's preferred western aircraft, American F-16s, were no longer an option on the table with western partners.
He said Sweden’s Gripen fighter jets are still an option. Ukrainian officials have previously mentioned the Gripen as a possibility in conversations with ABC News about weapons supplies.
"I’m sure we will have (western) aircraft," Reznikov said.
Reznikov also spoke of the fierce fighting being wage in the city of Bakhmut in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Reznikov described the city as a “stronghold” which Russia has been trying to occupy for months.
Reznikov said 500 Russian soldiers a day are being injured or killed in the fight for Bukhmut and that Ukrainian casualties are significantly lower.
Any strategic decision on whether or not to withdraw, Reznikov said, would be made by Ukrainian generals and is "not a political decision."
-ABC News Tom Soufi Burridge
