Ajit Karn
Kyiv: After visiting the frontline region of southern Kherson, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky warned European leaders on Thursday that “delays” in the delivery of fighter aircraft and long-range missiles could prolong the conflict.
An EU official said that as Zelensky returned from war-torn regions via train, he addressed his EU counterparts congregated in Brussels via video link and gave an impassioned account of what he had witnessed.
However, despite welcoming a recent EU proposal to send one million artillery shells to Kyiv, he maintained his demand for modern aircraft and missiles, which he believes will be more effective in pushing back Russian forces.
His demands came after the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, said he planned to exploit the fact that Russian troops were “exhausted” near Bakhmut, the site of the longest and fiercest combat since Russia’s invasion last year.
During months of intense combat between Russian and Ukrainian forces, the eastern town of Bakhmut, which once had an estimated population of around 70,000, has been essentially emptied of civilians.
“The aggressor has not given up hope of capturing Bakhmut at any cost,” Syrsky said, despite losses in personnel and equipment.
“They are losing substantial stamina and becoming exhausted as they spare no effort.
“Very soon, we will seize this opportunity, just as we did near Kiev, Kharkiv, Balakliya, and Kupiansk last year,” he added, referring to successful Ukrainian counteroffensives.
Kyiv views Bakhmut as essential to deterring Russian forces across the entire eastern front.
Both parties have invested heavily in the conflict, despite the city’s lack of strategic significance, according to analysts.
This week, the leader of the Russian Wagner mercenary group stated that his forces controlled approximately 70 percent of the city. According to a Russian subordinate in the greater Donetsk region, the city is “practically surrounded.”
– Reappearing in Kherson –
Zelensky stated on Thursday that he was on a “working trip to the Kherson region” — the southern region still partially controlled by the Russians, who are entrenched on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River and routinely shell the city of Kherson, murdering civilians.
Following a strategic withdrawal, Ukrainian forces recaptured Kherson, the administrative center of the southern region, in November of 2016.
Zelensky stated that he visited a village where “houses and civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged” as a consequence of the Russian invasion.
He stated that local authorities were restoring essential services, such as electricity and water, and reconstructing a medical center in the village.
Thursday’s social media post proclaimed, “People are returning.””I discussed their problems and needs with the locals,” he added.
Kherson, the gateway to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, was quickly and readily seized by Russian forces in the first days of their invasion in February 2022.
In September of last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions, despite not having complete military control over any of them.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s defense ministry reported that Russian forces had withdrawn from the southern city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region. However, the report was immediately retracted and deemed to be an error.
Zelensky stated in a separate post that he had met with officials to coordinate demining and reconstruction efforts in captured territory.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the director of Kherson’s regional military administration, stated that Russian forces had killed one individual and wounded two others in the previous twenty-four hours.
– Uranium projectiles –
Annabel Goldie, the British deputy defense minister, confirmed on Monday that the United Kingdom will provide Ukraine with ammunition containing depleted uranium, rendering it heavier and more effective at penetrating steel.
Thursday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg disregarded Russian complaints over the action, which Moscow had warned would be a “serious escalation” of the Ukraine crisis.
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“NATO allies follow international rules and international law in everything they do to support Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told News agency in response to Russian complaints and British plans.
At the operational launch of a new fleet of NATO-EU air-refueling aircraft at a Dutch airbase, he stated, “The most dangerous thing is the war, which claims thousands of lives.”
“President Putin’s decision to end the war is the most important thing that can be done to reduce risks.”
