(Kharkiv) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited newly dug defense lines in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, where Russian attacks and bombings are increasing, the presidency announced on Tuesday.
Faced with the blockage of American military aid and a lack of men and ammunition for his army, Mr. Zelensky warned on Sunday that his country “will lose the war” if this assistance does not arrive.
Since the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023, Kyiv has faced Russian assaults in the northeast, east and south of the country, against which the army has begun to dig trenches and build defensive lines to slow down the Russians and prevent a breakthrough, a tactic very similar to that successfully adopted a year ago by the Kremlin.
Visiting positions being established in the Kharkiv region, bordering Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that the area was “very important”.
“We have to be prepared. And the Russians must see that we are ready to defend ourselves. I want our people to know that Ukraine is prepared if the enemy attacks,” he said, according to the presidential Telegram account, which did not specify when his visit took place.
In his evening speech, Mr. Zelensky reiterated that it was “very important to strengthen this leadership” so that the Russians “see that Kharkiv is getting stronger.”
PHOTO PROVIDED TO AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Visiting positions being established in the Kharkiv region, President Zelensky stressed that the area was “very important.”
Ukrainian troops have been facing attacks for months in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region, while the regional capital of the same name, the country’s second city, is constantly bombarded, particularly its energy infrastructure, leading to losses. large-scale power cuts.
On Tuesday, three people were injured in a Russian bombing on a company in Kharkiv, Governor Oleg Synegoubov said on Telegram.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, one person was killed and three injured in strikes on Kostiantynivka, near the front in the east, and another person was killed in the Cherniguiv region (north), according to local authorities and emergency services.
The fortifications that Ukraine is building are a network of trenches, anti-tank ditches and rows of pyramidal concrete blocks called “dragons’ teeth”, to slow down armored vehicles mounting the assault.
Ukraine is struggling to recruit troops due to a lack of decision on additional mobilization, while the situation on the front is difficult after two years of war. The expected American aid of 60 billion dollars has remained blocked in Congress for months, and that of the Europeans has fallen behind schedule.
At the same time, Russia has managed to recruit tens of thousands of volunteer soldiers and turn its industry towards the war effort, despite Western sanctions which affect its economy.