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Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, warned European leaders on Thursday that “delays” in dispatching fighter aircraft and long-range missiles could prolong the conflict during a visit to the frontline Kherson region in the south.
Zelensky addressed a summit of his EU peers gathered in Brussels via video link while on the train back from the war-torn areas, according to an EU official. Zelensky delivered an emotional account of what he had seen.
Nevertheless, despite his support for a recent EU plan to send Kyiv a million artillery shells, he persisted in calling for the purchase of modern warplanes and missiles that he thinks will be more effective at repelling Russian forces.
He made these demands in response to Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, declaring that he intended to exploit the fact that the Russian soldiers were “exhausted” close to Bakhmut, the scene of the bloodiest and longest fight since the Russian invasion last year.
Following months of fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, the eastern town of Bakhmut, which once had an estimated 70,000 residents, has practically become devoid of civilians.
Despite losses in manpower and weapons, Syrsky stated that the aggressor “has not given up hope of taking Bakhmut at all costs.”
Without holding back, they are significantly weakening and wearing out.
We will quickly seize this chance, just as we did last year near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balakliya, and Kupiansk,” he continued, referencing victorious Ukrainian counteroffensives.
Bakhmut is important, according to Kiev, in holding back Russian troops on the entire eastern front.
Despite the city having little strategic importance, analysts say both sides have heavily invested in the conflict.
This week, the leader of the Russian mercenary organization Wagner claimed possession of about 70% of the city. The city was “practically surrounded,” according to a Russian aide in the larger Donetsk area.
Arriving back in Kherson –
On Thursday, Zelensky claimed to be in the Kherson region on a “working trip.” Kherson is an area in southern Ukraine that is still largely under Russian rule. The Russians are entrenched on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River and frequently shell Kherson City, killing civilians.
Following a tactical Russian force withdrawal, Ukrainian troops took back Kherson city, the southern region’s administrative hub, in November.
According to Zelensky, one village he visited had “houses and civilian infrastructural facilities” damaged as a consequence of Russia’s invasion.
In addition to rebuilding a medical facility, he claimed that local authorities were bringing back vital utilities like electricity and water to the village.
In a message on social media on Thursday, he claimed that people were coming back.I spoke with the residents about their issues and requirements,” he continued.
Early on in their February 2022 invasion, Russian troops quickly and easily took control of Kherson, a gateway to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Despite not having complete military authority over any of them, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexated Kherson and three other regions of Ukraine last September.
Russian troops were reportedly pulled out of the Kherson region’s southern city of Nova Kakhovka on Thursday, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry. However, the ministry immediately acknowledged its error and retracted the claim.
In a different post, Zelensky claimed to have conducted a coordination conference with officials where the topics of de-mining and reconstruction in retaken territory were discussed.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the regional military commander for Kherson, reported that over the previous day, Russian troops had killed one person and injured two others.
Uranium ammunition
The UK will give Ukraine ammunition that contains depleted uranium, which makes it heavier and better at penetrating steel, revealed British junior defense minister Annabel Goldie on Monday.
After Moscow warned it would be a “serious escalation” of the crisis in Ukraine, NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg dismissed Russian complaints about the action on Thursday.
When questioned about the British plans and Russian complaints, Stoltenberg responded, “NATO allies are following international rules and international law in everything they do in their support for Ukraine.”
At the operational debut of a brand-new NATO-EU air-refueling plane fleet at a Dutch airbase, he declared, “The dangerous thing is the conflict, which is taking thousands of lives.
“President Putin’s decision to halt the war is the most crucial step that can be taken to lower risks.”
