“HThere is intense fighting along the entire front line,” Zelensky said in a message published on social media after being informed about the situation by the commander of the Armed Forces.
“We discussed defensive actions and [formas] to strengthen our positions in the Kharkiv region”, in the northeast of the country and which borders Russia, said the Ukrainian leader.
Ukraine is sending reinforcements to the Kharkiv region, whose capital of the same name is the country’s second largest city, and responding to the Russian attack with artillery and ‘drones’, said the Ukrainian President.
Zelensky said Ukraine would respond to the new Russian push with force and called on Kiev’s Western allies to provide additional military aid.
“Along our national border and our front line, we will inevitably destroy the occupier in order to thwart Russia’s offensive intentions,” he further declared in a video speech delivered tonight.
Previously, Volodymyr Zelensky had reported at a press conference about a “fierce battle” in the Kharkiv region, assuring that his people “knew about it” and had prepared themselves.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that on Thursday “the enemy carried out air strikes in the Vovchansk sector”, which borders the Russian region of Belgorod, using guided aerial bombs.
Commenting on developments in the Ukraine theater, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby today predicted that Russia “will certainly intensify its attacks and deploy more troops” to northeastern Ukraine in the coming weeks. , with the aim of establishing a “buffer zone” along the border.
However, Kirby commented that the United States does not expect “any major advances” from Russian troops, adding: “We have confidence in the Ukrainian forces and are working tirelessly to send (…) the weapons they need to defend themselves. against these attacks.”
The intensification of Russian attacks was expected by most analysts, as Moscow should take advantage of its advantage in soldiers and weapons before Washington’s new military and financial aid package for Kiev, approved last month, has an impact on combat fronts.
In an interview with The Economist magazine, Oleksandr Pavliuk, commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, stated that the critical phase of the war will arrive in the next two months.
The commander noted Kiev’s predictions that before military aid reaches Ukrainian forces on the ground, Russian generals “are throwing all the combat-ready material they have to test Ukraine’s exhausted and insufficiently supplied troops.” .
“Russia knows that if we receive enough weapons within a month or two, the situation could turn against it,” Pavliuk said.
The general officer insisted that Ukraine urgently needs more air defense and that the early delivery of US F-16 fighter jets by early June would provide a significant “psychological boost”.
Ukrainian commanders have described a substantial increase in Russian attacks in recent days, following the growth in attacks by Moscow troops recorded this year.
According to a UK calculation, between March and April alone, Russian attacks increased by 17% and more than three-quarters of ground offensives took place in the directions of Chasiv Yar, Avdiivka and Marinka, in the east of the country.
Read Also: Zelensky reports “fierce battle” against Russians in Kharkiv region
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2558317/zelensky-afirma-que-ha-combates-intensos-em-toda-a-linha-da-frente
