The Ukrainian army is making “rather rapid and powerful advances in the south of our country”, he said in his daily address published on social networks.
“Dozens of localities have been liberated just this week” in the four regions annexed late last week by Russia, welcomed Mr. Zelensky.
He notably cited eight localities taken over by the forces of kyiv in the region of Kherson (south), where the Russian army retreated according to maps presented Tuesday by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The maps shown by Moscow, compared to those of the day before, show that the Russian forces have left a large number of localities in the Kherson region, in particular that of Dudtchany on the western bank of the Dnieper river, while the Ukrainian army leads there a counter-offensive for several weeks, which has struggled to break through until now.
The map of the Kharkiv region (northeast) shows that the Russians have left almost all of the eastern bank of the Oskil River, the last area of the region they still controlled.
“Our soldiers do not stop. It is only a matter of time before we chase the occupier from all of our lands,” assured the Ukrainian head of state.
Zelensky thanks Biden for ‘continued military support’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday thanked Joe Biden for the “continued military and financial support” of the United States in the face of the Russian invasion during a telephone conversation, after Washington announced a new arms shipment in Kyiv.
“It was nice to hear President Biden’s words that our military inspires the world and our people inspire the world,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
During this interview, Mr. Biden announced a new American shipment of military equipment, including four new Himars rocket launcher systems, much appreciated by the Ukrainians, the American authorities indicated earlier in the day.
Highly accurate and powerful, Himars systems have played an important role in recent Ukrainian military advances.
The remainder of this new component of American military aid includes in particular 32 Howitzer guns, tens of thousands of light ammunition and artillery ammunition, mine systems, and 200 armored vehicles.
The Russian army retreated Tuesday in the region of Kharkiv (northeast) but also of Kherson (south), according to maps presented by the Russian Ministry of Defense, illustrating the latest successes of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the annexed territories by Moscow.
Zelensky also hails India’s “support”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed India’s ‘support’ for Ukraine in the face of Russian invasion in a rare phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a month after kyiv criticized New Delhi .
Mr. Zelensky “thanked Narendra Modi for Indian support on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Ukrainian presidency said in a statement.
He also underlined the importance of the recent declaration by Mr Modi, who took a stand against this war during an interview with Vladimir Putin in mid-September, where he had told him: “the hour is not the war”.
New Delhi had been criticized by kyiv for its neutrality until then in the face of the Russian invasion. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba had even accused India of “benefiting” from Ukrainian and Western “sacrifices”, alluding to the significant discounts obtained by India on Russian crude.
“India only has the opportunity to buy Russian oil at a very low price (…) only because someone dies in Ukraine and someone in Europe applies sanctions”, had then regretted Mr. Kouleba.
Much more conciliatory, Mr. Zelensky underlined Tuesday with Mr. Modi “the importance of strengthening the Ukrainian-Indian partnership against the backdrop of Russian aggression against Ukraine”, according to the Ukrainian presidency.
He also denounced “Russian nuclear blackmail, in particular at the Ukrainian power plant” in Zaporijjia occupied by Russian troops. It is “a threat not only for Ukraine but for the whole world”, added the Ukrainian president.
His interview comes the day after Mr. Kouleba left for a ten-day tour of Africa aimed at “consolidating political support” for kyiv on the continent, where no country has really associated itself with Western sanctions against Russia.
Russia is also seeking to lure Africa to its side. This summer, its head of diplomacy Sergei Lavrov visited several African countries.
Ukraine is a major grain supplier to Africa, but its exports have fallen sharply this year due to Russia’s blockade of its seaports, which has led to soaring prices.