With the diplomatic and economic costs mounting for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky extolled his own people's "heroic" resistance.

He said that around 9,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since the invasion began eight days ago. Announcing its own toll for the first time, Moscow said it had lost 498 troops.

"We are a nation that broke the enemy's plans in a week," President Zelensky said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging service.

"Plans written for years: sneaky, full of hatred for our country, our people."

However, after a three-day siege that left Kherson short of food and medicine, Ukrainian officials conceded the loss of the Black Sea city of 290,000 people.

While a huge military column is stalled north of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, Russian troops have been advancing on the southern front, and are besieging the important port city of Mariupol east of Kherson. 

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