Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says forces advancing ‘in all directions’

Kathmandu: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that forces are advancing in all directions on the front line that runs through the eastern Donetsk region and the south of the country.

In an upbeat message to his nation after visiting the front lines, Zelenskyy said, ‘This is a happy day. I wished the guys more days like this.’ Decorating troops, he said Ukrainian forces had ‘advanced in all directions’.

‘It was a busy day, a lot of emotions… I was honoured to award our warriors, to thank them personally, to shake their hands,’ Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, which was released in the early hours of Tuesday.

The Ukrainian president also said he had spoken about weapons supplies with US President Joe Biden. ‘Today, I was in the area where these weapons will give more power, more protection to Ukrainians’ lives. And bring our victory closer, this is the main thing. All our land will be free – all of it,’ he said.

The Ukrainian leader’s interactions with his forces and positive comments on Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive contrasted starkly with the turmoil in Russia following the short-lived mutiny by the Russian Wagner Group’s mercenary forces.