A detailed meeting on our defense. I am grateful to every unit holding the line firmly on the key sectors of the front and defending actively. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov briefed me on the situation and on our possible courses of action in the Kharkiv region – above all on the Kupyansk axis, as well as in the Donetsk region, on the Zaporizhzhia axis, and across southern Ukraine overall.
Today, I want to particularly commend the 79th Separate Tavriia Airborne Assault Brigade, the 1st Assault Regiment, and the 425th Separate Assault Regiment for the results they have achieved.
There was also a briefing on our long-range sanctions – in particular against facilities of Russia’s oil industry located in Tuapse and other Russian regions.
We are also receiving increasing amounts of internal Russian information regarding preparations for additional mobilization in the aggressor state. Above all, this is intended to compensate for the particularly high losses of the Russian army on the occupied territory of Ukraine. Russia’s political leadership has set the task of increasing the occupation contingent, which means at least tens of thousands more personnel. We also have data regarding a further expansion of mobilization. It is precisely for this purpose that the Russian authorities have stepped up the issuance of so-called mobilization orders.
We view these Russian steps as confirmation that Moscow is not preparing for real diplomacy, and we will share the available data with our partners. Russia must end its war, and the world has leverage. We are working at every level to protect Ukraine and push Russia toward diplomacy. Glory to Ukraine!
: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine