Zelensky admits Russia controls 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory

KIEV – President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that Russia currently controls about 20 percent of the territory Ukraine . It was presented to the Luxembourg Parliament in a video speech.

“Russian troops invaded 3,620 populated areas of Ukraine. Of those 1,017 have been released, another 2,603 ​​need to be released. As of today, about 20 percent of our territory is controlled by the invaders, almost 125,000 sq km, more than the combined areas of all the Benelux countries,” he said, Thursday (2/6/2022).

“We had to defend ourselves against almost the entire Russian army. All combat-ready Russian military formations are involved in this aggression,” he said, adding that the front line of battle stretched for more than 1,000 km (620 miles).

Zelensky also thanked the military aid received so far and called for an increased supply of weapons.

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Meanwhile, Russian troops in eastern Ukraine tried to advance south towards the main Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. This was conveyed by the Governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko.

“The Lyman and Izyum Fronts are the main directions in which the enemy is trying to advance to seize the Sloviansk and Kramatorsk territories, the main objective [mereka] in the north of the region,” Kyrylenko said at a briefing Al Jazeera.

Kyrylenko also said 340,000 residents remained in the part of the territory controlled by Ukraine, out of a pre-war population of 1.67 million.

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