Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says defenses are holding firm against Russia’s summer push
KYIV Ukraine AP Ukrainian forces are holding back Russia s concerted summer push to break through defenses along parts of the front line Ukraine s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says They are not advancing It s very tough for our guys out there And it s tough everywhere Zelenskyy explained reporters on Thursday in comments embargoed till Friday It s also very hard for the Russians and that s good for us he explained With the war now in its fourth year after Russia s February invasion of its neighbor the effort is draining materials on both sides although Russia has more materials and people to sustain its fight Ukraine is seeking further patronage from Western partners Russia has claimed the capture of several villages and hamlets but no defensively stronger urban areas have fallen to its troops Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have repeatedly attempted to stage minor incursions near the eastern Donetsk city of Pokrovsk to film symbolic footage such as raising a Russian flag but Ukrainian forces have repelled those efforts Zelenskyy mentioned It happened five to seven times in recent days sometimes with only two or six people Once they tried to hold a position with people and all of them were eliminated by our defenders Zelenskyy reported Zelenskyy described the situation in the northeastern Sumy territory line region as much better than in latest months noting progress by Ukrainian forces over the past six weeks Russia has also intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian cities and Zelenskyy commented Ukraine is working with international partners to secure U S -made Patriot air defense systems with three already established from Germany and Norway The Trump administration will sell the systems he revealed but Ukraine s task is to find funding for all Each system costs more than billion Ukraine is also seeking to obtain a license to manufacture the Patriot systems itself The Ukrainian leader expressed little hope for progress in direct talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine though he commented the Kremlin envoys have begun discussing the possibility of a leaders summit with Ukraine We need an end to the war which ostensibly begins with a meeting of leaders It won t work any other way with the Russians Zelenskyy stated In domestic politics Zelenskyy reported constituents protests against changes earlier this week to Ukraine s anti-corruption law were legitimate The changes threatened the independence of anti-graft watchdogs and also drew rebukes from European Union personnel and international rights groups prompting Zelenskyy to propose new ordinance to restore the independence of the anti-graft agencies It s very critical that society speaks I respect the opinion of society Zelenskyy reported People questioned for changes We responded Demonstrators gathered for the third day on Thursday evening but drew a smaller crowd He declared those agencies must be truly independent adding that the the bulk fundamental thing in this war is the unity of our state It is critical not to lose unity However the jeopardy now remains that the Verkhovna Rada Ukraine s Parliament will fail to approve the new bill which could bring even larger crowds to the streets Zelenskyy expressed confidence that it would pass The the bulk major thing right now is that the bill exists It has been registered I believe it will receive enough votes I want that to happen he noted Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine Source
