Ukrainian President Orders Front Front Front Front Front Front Strengthened To Face Russian Attacks

Ukrainian military on the battlefield. (Wikimedia Commons/30th Prince Constanty Ostragski Mechanized Brigade)

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called for massive strengthening in sectors in eastern Ukraine from the 1.000 km (600 miles) frontline, where Russian troops have made consistent progress in recent months.

President Zelensky delivered his call when the Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces had seized two new frontline villages, one in the Donetsk region, the main focus of the war that had been going on for 33 months, the other further south in the Zaporizhia region.

Speaking at his evening address after discussions with Ukrainian Military Commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi, he said many things depend on Ukraine's Western allies providing important weapons on time.

"Doetsk directives require significant strengthening. This in particular involves the supply of weapons from our partners," President Zelensky said.

"This is a direct relationship: the greater the firepower and technological capabilities of our army, the more we can destroy the potential of Russia's offensive and protect the lives of our soldiers," he continued.

The key, he said, is to increase Ukraine's long-range capabilities, in part by increasing domestic weapons production.

Yesterday, the United States, the largest military aid supplier to Ukraine, announced its latest military aid package on Monday, worth around USD 725 million. However, Ukraine is concerned about the continuing flow of weapons under President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to end the war soon.

Earlier, war analysts and bloggers said Russian troops in the east advanced at the fastest speed since the start of the February 2022 invasion.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces had captured Romanivka Village, south of the city of Kurakhove, which was hit by fighting in the Donetsk region. It is also said that Moscow forces control Novodarivka, just across the border in the Zaporizhia region.

Separately, Ukrainian military general staff said Russian forces had launched 38 attacks near the Kurakhove, but did not mention Romanivka. There was no mention of the Novodarivka that fell into Russian hands, but mentioned the village as one of the areas attacked by Russia.

President Zelensky, in a post on his Telegram account, quoted General Syrskyi as saying conditions around Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, another target of Russia's attacks in the northern region, were difficult.

However, he also talked about a "good enough" result in defending the Zaporizhia region.