Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech on Sunday that the Russian army was at a “dead end” and that his country’s “victory is beginning”.
“Our 81st day of defense is coming to an end, another week of 24/7 work in Ukraine, and victory begins,” he said at the start of his speech.
“We are preparing for a new Russian attack attempt in the Donbass to somehow intensify its operations in southern Ukraine,” he warned. “The occupiers are still reluctant to admit that they have reached a dead end, their alleged The special operation has gone bankrupt. But the time will surely come when the Ukrainian people will force the invaders to fully recognize the reality.”
The president also addressed the missile attack in Lviv and the shelling of the Juliapol, Severo-Donetsk, Lysichansk and Donetsk regions on Sunday, saying Ukraine is experiencing “atrocities” every day.
However, Zelensky claimed that Russian soldiers “will bring this evil back to Russia” when they withdraw from Ukraine.
His remarks came on the same day that the British Ministry of Defence estimated that Russia had lost about a third of the troops it originally sent to Ukraine.
On Monday, Ukrainian officials reported that troops had begun a counteroffensive and pushed Russian troops in Kharkiv towards the border between the two countries, Reuters reported.
In his speech, Zelensky also discussed Ukraine’s relations with other countries and the war-torn country’s international influence.
“The key is weapons and financial support for Ukraine,” he said, referring to international aid. “Financially not only to maintain the stability it is now, but to start rebuilding what Russia destroyed.”
Sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo, top Zelensky’s list when it comes to international involvement in the crisis.
“Another task, which becomes more important as the war goes on, is to do whatever it takes to keep the world’s best attention on us, on Ukraine,” Zelensky added. “Information about our needs should be in the news in all the countries that are important to us and that follow us every day.”
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Zelensky concluded his speech by stressing that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would fail.
“No matter how ‘creative’ they are in Kherson and Melitopol, no matter how they portray their so-called ‘power’ in the occupied areas of Priazovia and Donbass, they are temporary ,” he claimed. “In any case, the Ukrainian flag, Ukrainian laws, Ukrainian lives remain.”
Zelensky concluded: “They will bring it back because they will retreat. This is how all the frenetic activity of the Russian army we are seeing now will end. I thank all the Ukrainians who have brought this time together.”
