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Russia could step up attacks on Ukraine, says Volodymyr Zelensky

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image description, Thousands of people are said to have been evacuated from Kharkiv in just over a week

  • Author, Kathryn Armstrong
  • Role, BBC News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia could step up its attacks in northeastern Ukraine after its recent successes near the city of Kharkiv.

Russian troops have tried to advance as Ukraine’s numerically superior forces try to shore up a weakened front line.

Mr Zelensky admitted there were problems with staffing and morale in the military, saying a number of existing brigades were empty.

He also told AFP that the country lacks air fleet and reiterated calls on allies to send more air defense and fighter aircraft.

“Today we have about 25% of what we need to defend Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky said of Ukraine’s air capabilities.

“So that Russia does not have air superiority, our fleet should have 120 to 130 modern aircraft.”

Russian forces recently launched a summer offensive, capturing several villages on Ukraine’s northeastern border near Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city.

Kharkiv region governor Oleg Synegubov said on Saturday that nearly 10,000 people had been forced to leave the country in just over a week.

“The situation is being controlled by defenders of Ukraine,” he added.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced the country will spend over €2.3bn (£1.9bn) to fortify its eastern border against “potential enemies”.

The border includes Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky also told AFP that more soldiers were urgently needed at the front.

“There are a significant number of existing brigades, many of which are empty. We have to do this so that the guys have a normal rotation. Then their morale will be improved.”

A new mobilization law intended to counteract this problem came into force on Saturday.

Under the new rules, the age at which people can be drafted into military service has been lowered from 27 to 25 in order to increase the number of recruits.

The flood of volunteers that Ukraine experienced after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 has now dried up. Most of those who wanted to fight are either dead, injured or still at the front waiting to be replaced by new recruits.

In February, Mr. Zelensky announced that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in Russia’s all-out invasion.

Ukrainian officials typically do not release casualty figures, but other estimates are much higher.

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