Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday his country is working to increase its drone capabilities, as Ukraine fights to repulse a Russian invasion launched more than two years ago.
His comment came a day after he made fresh pleas to allies to send more Patriot air defense systems “as soon as possible.”
Ukraine has faced daily drone and missile attacks from Russia, including strikes on multiple cities and energy infrastructure sites.
“We are still waiting for the supplies Ukraine was promised,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Sunday. “We are expecting those volumes and scope that can change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine’s interests,” he added.
Zelenskyy said he had just spoken with U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and thanked Congress for passing a stalled aid package that includes $61 billion for Ukraine.
“In my conversation with Mr. Jeffries, I underscored that Patriot systems are needed, and as soon as possible,” he added.
Jeffries said on X the United States “will continue to stand with the Ukrainian people in your valiant and courageous fight against Russian aggression.”
Ukrainian troops, outnumbered by Russian ground forces, are retreating from positions in eastern Ukraine as Russian troops advance westward, Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Sunday.
Syrskyi said that Kyiv’s outnumbered troops had fallen back to new positions west of three villages on the eastern front where Russia has concentrated significant forces in several locations.
“The situation at the front has worsened,” the top general wrote on the Telegram messaging app, saying the “most difficult” areas were west of occupied Maryinka and northwest of Avdiivka, a strategically important town captured by Russian forces in February.
Ukraine’s eastern front lines in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions have seen fierce clashes in recent weeks as Russian forces seek to grind out gains along the more than 1,000-kilometer front line. Additionally, shortages of ammunition and personnel have increasingly hamstrung Ukraine’s defenses, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group.
The institute, however, assessed that despite Russian advances, it is not likely that Kyiv’s defensive lines will collapse.
In his post, Syrskyi expressed hope that once the U.S. starts suppling the weapons promised under the aid package signed into law by President Biden last week, the situation will stabilize on the battlefield.
Syrskyi also said that fresh Ukrainian brigades were replacing worn out units that had suffered losses in those areas.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
