Zelenskyy acknowledged issues with manpower and “morale,” but said for now his troops had stabilized the front lines and that Russian forces had advanced no more than 6 miles into the Ukrainian territory. Fierce fighting is ongoing in the streets of Vovchansk, a front-line town from where thousands of residents have fled in recent days.
Ukraine rushed reserves to the area, a move that helped prevent further losses in the northeast. But it could spread its forces even thinner on the battlefield and expose other parts of the frontlines as the Russians push in the eastern Donetsk region and reportedly mass forces near Sumy, west of Vovchansk.
The Russian military said it had dealt Ukraine another setback in the area Saturday by taking control of Starytsa, a village to the west of Vovchansk.
The Ukrainians did not comment on the claim, though Kyiv’s general staff said in an update that “the enemy does not stop trying to break through the defense of the Ukrainian troops” in the area. “Our defenders are trying to push back the enemy,” it said.
NBC News could not independently verify the battlefield reports from either side.
While the Kremlin’s forces may not be sufficient to take Kharkiv, Ledwidge said, “they’re sufficient to probe Ukrainian forces and expose the lack of their defenses,” and the fall of Starytsa is another example.
Zelenskyy has blamed the lack of air defenses for the breach around Kharkiv, repeating Friday his plea for more defense systems and fighter jets.
Ukraine is desperately waiting for supplies from the $60 billion U.S. military aid that was approved last month, which includes rocket launch systems, artillery rounds, infantry vehicles and other military equipment.
While his allies are calling for a swift end to the war, Zelenskyy says Ukraine will only accept a “fair” peace solution.
“We are in a nonsense situation where the West is afraid that Russia will lose the war,” he said, “And it does not want Ukraine to lose it.”
As the death toll mounts on the Ukrainian side, a total victory for Kyiv appears increasingly distant.
“How long are you going to go throwing your young middle-aged men into a war that you cannot win on your own terms,” Ledwidge asked.
That line of thinking may renew a focus on peace talks.
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to forge deeper ties this week as their countries increasingly clash with the West, and Zelenskyy wants to use Beijing’s “influence” with Moscow to his advantage.
He urged China to attend a summit next month in neutral Switzerland, while Russia has not been invited.
China and other global powers “have influence on Russia. And the more such countries we have on our side, on the side of the end of the war, I would say, the more Russia will have to move and reckon with,” he said.
