Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that the progress of his forces is slower than expected, but Kyiv will not succumb to pressure to act faster, writes Reuters.
The president told the BBC: “Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not. What’s at stake is people’s lives.” Currently, the Ukrainians are advancing on the southern front and holding a defensive line in the east, which has long been the main target of the Russian attack.
In the Kupyansk region in the northeast, Russian forces are attacking particularly intensively: “In the Kupiansk sector, whatever the Russian terrorists might be planning, we are destroying the enemy. In the south, we are moving forward … In the east, we are holding our defenses.”
Ukraine has recaptured eight villages in a long-awaited counteroffensive, the first major breakthrough
in more than half a year.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Moscow is monitoring the counterattack. Putin told television that, although Ukraine still has the potential to attack, Kyiv has realized that it has “no chance”.
Ukrainian forces have yet to break through the Russian defensive lines they have been building for months. Kyiv is believed to have prepared 12 brigades that are still preparing to join the fighting.
Despite the slow progress, Washington has reported that it will call for more international support for Ukraine, also appealing to countries that have not yet condemned Russia’s invasion.
On the morning of Thursday, the 22nd of June, air raid sirens sounded in the eastern part of Ukraine for more than an hour, and the army warned of possible attacks by drones and missiles. Officials and the army have reported explosions in several populated areas, but no casualties have been reported.
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