Zelensky also praised the Ukrainian forces in his speech. “Our people are doing a great job in all areas,” he said. At the same time, given the fierce fighting in the east, the Ukrainian president renewed his demand for the rapid delivery of critical equipment to the West.

Zelenskij said that the United States, Great Britain and France in particular “know no holidays for war.” “We need to speed up delivery from our partners, and that’s what we’re asking for.”

The difficulties at Pokrovsk were acknowledged

Ukrainian units seem to have come under heavy pressure, especially in the Donbass region. They have already had to withdraw from some places. The area around Doretsk in particular “rather than security for Ukraine, now the main goal of our defense operations is generally Russia’s capability, war potential and maximum counteroffensive missions,” Zelensky said.

Ukrainian military officials acknowledged the difficulties surrounding Pokrovsky. “We can retreat, give up a small settlement or lose a small battle,” Serhii Chegotsky, an officer in the brigade stationed there, told television. “But the main task is to win the war.”

Russian advance near Mykolayivka

Russian troops are currently advancing near Mykolayivka to cut off the supply route between Pokrovsk and Karlovka. “Here they’re trying to accomplish something,” Zegotsky said. But it is precisely at this point that the Russian military expects “the unexpected”. The official did not provide any details.

Torezk and Pokrovsk have been hot spots for the past few weeks. Ukrainian civil servants also reported heavy fighting around cities. During the day, 24 Russian attacks were recorded near Pokrovsk alone, some supported by fighter jets. A total of 15 Russian attacks were repulsed near Toresk. Information cannot be independently verified.

There is no information about the fighting at Kursk

The Ukrainian general in Kiev did not provide any information about the fighting in the western Russian region of Kursk. The situation report simply stated that Russian artillery and warplanes attacked Ukrainian positions around Sumy in the east of the country. Sumy is considered a supply hub for Ukrainian troops fighting in the Kursk region.

At the same time, the Ukrainian military released aerial photographs of a destroyed bridge over the Seam River near the town of Zvannoi in Kursk on Sunday. It was the second strategically important bridge for Russian supplies and was reportedly destroyed by Ukrainian troops within a week.

Heavy Ukrainian losses?

The Ukrainian army suffered unusually high losses of valuable technology during its advance near Kursk, the business magazine “Forbes” wrote. The losses of tanks, armored vehicles and heavy weapons were very high and proportional to the simultaneous losses on the Russian side.

Advancing over open terrain, the vehicles were often exposed to air and artillery fire, so losses were “twice as high as usual,” the paper quoted him as saying. But if Ukraine can keep the captured territory, it will be worth the losses. Zelensky has repeatedly complained about Russian rocket and artillery attacks from the Kursk region against targets in eastern Ukraine.

Lukashenko: Troops stationed on Ukraine border

Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said large contingents of troops had moved to his country’s border with Ukraine. He cited the large troop build-up on the Ukrainian side as the reason.

Kiev has up to 120,000 soldiers stationed there, he said in an interview with Russian TV channel Rossiya, quoted by Belda government. “In view of this policy of aggression, we have deployed our army along the entire border, and Lukashenko, also known as Europe’s last dictator, is closely cooperating with Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine: “Reports do not correspond to reality”

According to Ukrainian border forces, Lukashenko is resorting to “reports of aggression that do not correspond to the truth”. Border forces spokesman Andrij Demchenko said there were no signs of reinforcements on the Belarusian side.

Minsk is not actively involved in the war against Ukraine. However, Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to advance from Belarus into Ukraine in February 2022. After heavy setbacks and losses in the attempt to advance to Kiev, these Russian units had to withdraw.