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Russia has lost more than 7,000 soldiers in 20 days in Ukraine, roughly the same number of United States troops killed in 20 years in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to American intelligence estimates being dished out amid an emerging replay of Washington's proxy war that trapped the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan between 1978 and 1988.

The alleged fatalities, on top an estimated 21,000 wounded casualties, means nearly 20 per cent of the 150,000 invading Russian force is out of commission in a disastrous mission that the US leaders are saying will be further aggravated with accelerated supply of lethal American weapons to Ukraine.

Russia has so far acknowledged the death of around 500 soldier, a far lower count than American estimates or Ukrainian tally that puts Russian military deaths at 13,500. Ukraine has said roughly 1,300 of its soldiers have died in the war.

Congress leaders part of the G21 faction are meeting at former Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence in New Delhi. This is the first meeting of G21 leaders since the Congress party faced a drubbing in assembly elections in five states. Among G23 leaders present at the meeting are Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Bhupinder Hooda, Akhilesh Pratap Singh and Prithviraj Chavan.

The meeting was originally slated to be held at the residence of Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who is also a part of the G21.

However, the venue for the meeting was changed at the last moment after Kapil Sibal's remarks about the Congress leadership triggered outrage among party leaders.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked social media giant Facebook on Wednesday and alleged that it was “worse for democracy”. Rahul Gandhi also shared a report of Al Jazeera and The Reporters' Collective which claimed that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties.

Gandhi shared a compilation of news reports on Twitter, accusing the social media giant of helping the BJP reach out to voters during the elections.

“Meta-worse for democracy,” Gandhi said on Twitter.

Uttar Pradesh CM-designate Yogi Adityanath is expected to reach Delhi today afternoon and meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the government formation, besides holding discussions on the upcoming biennial polls for the legislative council with the party leadership.

While Adityanath was slated to reach the National Capital on Wednesday morning, sources said that he amended the itinerary due to the Union Cabinet meeting.

Adityanath is expected to land at Hindon airbase at around 2.30 pm and the meeting is scheduled at 4 pm.

in a seven-hour long meeting that American officials have described, among other things, as candid, substantial and important, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan conveyed, on Monday, Washington’s “deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia” to top Chinese official Yang Jiechi, warning him that should Beijing offer support to Moscow, there would be “significant consequences” for China.

The meeting, which took place in Rome on Monday, came after reports from the Financial Times saying US believed China had shown a willingness to offer specific military support asked for by Russia. US officials have refused to officially comment on the reports and maintained that they will engage with “privately and directly” with China. The White House, in a brief readout, described the discussions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “substantial”, with both sides agreeing to maintain open lines of communication.