President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian forces had captured nearly 20% of Ukraine.
In the announcement, Zelensky discussed the difficulty of defending against an onslaught of Russian forces. “We have to defend ourselves against almost the entire Russian army,” he said. “All combat-ready Russian military formations are involved in this aggression.”
The war, entering over 100 days of fighting, is starting a new phase as Russian forces gain ground.
After moving away from the capital Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin is now focused on gaining ground in the east and south of Ukraine. In the past months, Russia has successfully conquered key towns such as Mariupol.
Though the losses have been adding up on the Ukrainian side, Zelensky has assured allies of incremental gains with the lost territory.
Zelensky said that Russia had captured 3,600 Ukrainian towns, but Ukraine had regained around 1,000 of them.
Currently, the U.S has sent billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, which includes advanced rockets.
Britain and Germany have also promised to send advanced missile systems to Ukraine.
“It is reminiscent of World War II, when Nazi aggression threatened the lives of entire nations,” Zelensky said. “Therefore, we must significantly increase the pressure on Russia to stop this catastrophe and prevent such aggressions in the future.”
In the days since the start of the war, 12 Russian generals have been killed, and according to Ukrainian sources, 28,000 Russian soldiers have perished in Ukraine.
