Zelenskyy charts out new plan for frontlines, asks Ukrainian army to push Russian forces by 500m everyday

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has put his army to an ambitious task; Gain a minimum of 500 meters of territory daily from Russian forces. In his Sunday evening video address, Zelenskyy stated, “Ukraine needs results every day. We need to resist the Russian assaults, kill the occupiers, and move forward. We must advance by at least a kilometre, at least 500 meters, every day. We must continue progressing to strengthen Ukrainian positions and exert pressure on the occupiers.” Zelenskyy emphasised that this progress is crucial not only for Ukraine’s resilience but also to encourage more military support from foreign allies. He mentioned that the coming week “will bring more opportunities for Ukraine.” Zelensky’s remarks come at a time when, according to Russia Today, Russian forces are making advances around Avdeevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Kupyansk in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region. Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated that Ukrainian forces had incurred over 90,000 casualties in their counteroffensive, which began in early June, characterizing it as a “failed” operation. Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov conceded in an interview that the operation was not merely “behind schedule” but rather entirely off schedule. Additionally, Ukraine faces the challenge of competing for Western support and attention, particularly as recent surprise attacks by Hamas triggered a new conflict in Israel. Even before the Israel-Hamas conflict began, President Joe Biden’s administration was encountering difficulties in securing approval from US lawmakers for additional military and economic aid to Ukraine. The White House recently unveiled a $106 billion emergency spending request, which includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, and $9.2 billion for related humanitarian aid. Notably, most congressional Republicans opposed a smaller Ukraine aid bill earlier this month, and the Pentagon cautioned that it had nearly exhausted “all available security-assistance funding” previously approved for Kyiv.